See You Later
by youaremyglee
Summary: It's hard to imagine your life without the one you love. Without the feeling of their hand in yours. Without the sound of their heartbeat while you rest your head on their chest. Until you wake up and remember they've been gone for 2 years. It's even harder to believe that a woman you met at a diner could fix everything. Can Santana really help Brittany move on? AU Brittana.
1. The Promise

Sam set his bags down at the front door and turned towards his fiancé. She walked up to him with a smile on her face but the worry and pain in her expression was all too obvious.

"I'll be home in time for Christmas Britt."

He closed what little space was left between them and wrapped his arms around her. Sam was in the military and he was leaving for duty. This wasn't his first deployment and Brittany had been expecting this for a while now, but that didn't make it any easier.

"I know. Doesn't mean I won't miss you until then." She pulled away a bit and looked up at him. "Who's going to cheer me up with amazing impressions while you're over seas?"

He smiled down at her, "I think you'll live without those." She shrugged cutely and he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Sam pulled away from her and reached into the pocket of his jeans. He held his hand out, fist clenched tightly and palm facing down. Brittany gave him a questioning look and he smiled gently back at her and nodded towards his hand. She played along and put her hand under his. When he opened his fist she felt something familiar fall into her palm. He kept his hand on hers, not breaking eye contact.

"I'll be back." Sam said in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, causing Brittany to laugh and roll her eyes. He smiled and pulled her close to him again. Sam gently coaxed her to look up at him and he kissed her, trying hard to put everything he was feeling into that one kiss. Their last kiss until he would be home in December.

After they parted he picked up his bags and walked out of the apartment. There were no I love you's because they both knew that's what the kiss meant. There were no goodbyes.

Brittany looked down at the palm of her hand to see the beautiful shine of a new gold ring. This wasn't just an engagement ring Sam had given her to keep safe while he was away, it was a promise. A promise that he would be back for it, for her.

Before he got into the car that was waiting for him, Sam turned back to Brittany. She looked up at his bright, loving smile and smiled right back at him.

He blew her a kiss and sent her a wink, "See you later."

* * *

That was 2 years ago.

Brittany walked quickly through the brisk air that autumn brought to New York City. She was on a mission, a mission to avoid eye contact with anyone she recognized while she made her way back to her safe, warm apartment. Work had been the same as usual. She taught dance at a somewhat prestigious dance academy, one where people with too much money enrolled their bratty kids who didn't actually have an interest in dance. After a day of dealing with children, who were used to getting everything they wanted, and parents, who were used to the same thing, all Brittany wanted was to get home and relax.

She made it to the front of her building and hurried up the front steps. _Mission accomplished, _she thought to herself as she made her way to the stairwell.

She placed her hand on the door handle to her apartment. It was after 5pm on a Friday which meant only one thing. The door flew open without her turning the handle and she found one, Quinn Fabray standing in front of her. She wasn't surprised. She started rooming with her best friend a few months after she was told about Sam's disappearance. This was not Brittany's choice. She loved Quinn but she never wanted to admit she needed a roommate after what happened, even if it was her best friend. But after a particularly severe night and a trip to the hospital, Quinn convinced Brittany to move in with her.

"It's Friday." Quinn stated factually.

"Oh what do you know, it is!" Brittany gave her a thin smile that didn't last long, before squeezing past her to get into the apartment.

"So..." Quinn dragged out while following Brittany through the front room towards her bedroom, "we're supposed to go out for dinner."

"I wasn't involved in the decision to go out every Friday; you made that deal with yourself. So I hope you and yourself have a great evening."

Quinn frowned, no matter how long this new Brittany had been here she still couldn't get used to it. "You always put up a fight and then you end up enjoying the meal."

"Not true, I enjoy spending time with my best friend. The meal is usually terrible. You choose these fancy restaurants that we have to dress up to be at. They overcharge for portions that you would find on the kid's menu at a normal place. I don't even know where you get the money to go to these places! Aren't you a student?"

Quinn watched as Brittany pulled out her things, getting ready to shower. "You used to love dressing up."

"Do you have some secret escort job I should know about?" Brittany asked with a smirk, ignoring Quinn's indirect attempt to talk about what's really bothering her.

"Come on, we won't go somewhere fancy." Quinn offered Brittany a sincere smile and Brittany couldn't help but smile back.

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, but you're paying. I haven't got my pay cheque yet."

"Deal!" Quinn's smile grew as Brittany left the room to have her shower. She sat down on Brittany's bed and looked around the room. Her eyes fell to the nightstand where Brittany had left her jewelry, including a necklace with two golden rings on it. Quinn's smile faded. Ever since Sam disappeared Brittany had not been the same. She used to be a happy, bubbly person and it was rare to see her without a smile on her face. She was outgoing and curious; everything intrigued her and she was eager to learn new things. Now, even when she smiled, it was easy to see she wasn't happy. Nothing interested her anymore and she spent all of her time at work and in the apartment. Friday night dinners were Quinn's way to try to connect with the old Brittany. As the days went by and she still couldn't find what had made Brittany who she was before, she became more and more afraid that there was none of that Brittany left.

* * *

"Spotlight Diner?" Brittany read the sign out loud and followed Quinn in.

"Apparently the waiters and waitresses sing and dance and stuff." Quinn whispered over her shoulder, clearly excited about the prospect of a musical diner.

The man at the front of the diner showed them to their booth and they both settled down and started going through the menu.

Quinn looked over her menu towards Brittany, "I think I'll get the veggie burger, what about you?"

Brittany shrugged in response just before a waitress appeared at their side.

"Welcome to Spotlight Diner, I'm Santana and I'll be your waitress this evening. Can we start you off with some drinks?" Brittany looked up from her menu, drawn in by the tone of the woman's voice. She seemed... Bored? Weren't waitresses supposed to even just pretend they enjoyed their job? She looked at the woman standing beside them. She was fairly short, naturally tanned, and had beautiful black hair that was tied up into a wavy ponytail. Brittany couldn't help but wonder how her hair looked when it was down. The woman, Santana, looked towards Brittany, revealing her gorgeous brown eyes. She was stunning.

"Um..." Brittany couldn't stop staring into the brunettes eyes.

Quinn looked between the two and decided to cut in. "I'm Quinn this is Brittany." Santana slowly broke eye contact with Brittany and looked over to Quinn. "Water, please, for both of us." The Latina nodded.

"I'll be right back with your water."

Brittany went back to looking at her menu without a word, blocking her view of Quinn's smirking face.

Santana made her way back to the bar, prepared to fill two glasses of water, but very unprepared to go back and face her two new customers.

"Oo la la," Santana heard from behind her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face Rachel Berry. "Two attractive blondes, possibly on a date together?"

"Can it Berry." Santana scoffed and Rachel's jaw dropped as she pointed towards her name tag that clearly read _Rachel_. "Oh please."

"I'm just saying, they are clearly two attractive women and you are on the hunt. Well, at least you should be."

Santana turned around and started to fill two glasses of water. "They could just be friends. Besides, even if they are on a date, that means they're taken genius."

"You never know unless you try. Something you have clearly given up on."

"I've been with women since Dani." Santana replied as Rachel walked away.

"One night stands don't count." Rachel called back and Santana gave her an angry glare, before looking around to make sure nobody had heard. For once, the diner was somewhat empty and Santana couldn't feel more relieved.

She picked up the glasses of water and walked back towards the blondes.

"Here you go," she placed the glasses on the table, "are you ready to order your meals?"

"I'll have the veggie burger please."

Santana wrote Quinn's order in her notepad and looked to Brittany, who was already looking right at her.

"Get me whatever you would recommend." Santana looked at her with slightly squinted eyes. That was an odd request, and she wasn't sure what to order for the woman. What if she had a food allergy? Santana figured if Brittany had a food allergy then she wouldn't have ordered the way she had.

"Aren't you supposed to offer to perform or something?" Quinn asked the waitress.

Santana finally broke eye contact with Brittany to write down something in her notepad. "If people come in here and don't know the gimmick then I'm not going to inform them of it." She shrugged and held out her hand, silently asking for the menus.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at her and slowly handed her the menu. "Then why work in a place like this?"

Santana looked down at the menu and shook her head, "It's a job." She then turned to Brittany to find the blonde smiling at her and holding up the menu. Santana took the menu politely but didn't offer a smile in return. "I'll be back with your food ASAP." With that she turned around and left.

"What a terrible waitress. I won't be tipping highly." Quinn whispered and took a sip of her water.

"Terrible because she isn't pretending to be happy with her job?" Brittany shrugged. "Maybe she just isn't fake."

While they waited for their food Quinn started to tell Brittany about her day. Brittany tried to pay attention but she was too distracted by the beautiful Latina that was running around serving other guests.

"She doesn't smile."

Quinn looked up at her friend and sighed, realizing everything she had been saying was falling on deaf ears. "So? Like we said earlier, she hates her job."

"Right, but everyone smiles at some point. She talks to a lot of different people in a day, at least one has to make her smile."

Quinn tilted her head slightly, studying the way her friend watched the waitress. The old Brittany had always been interested in people. She knew what to say and when to say it. Maybe she hadn't been the best at understanding jokes or sarcasm but she had a natural ability to understand feelings. When she found someone she didn't instantly understand, she was drawn to them. Quinn hadn't seen this part of Brittany in approximately 2 years.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" Quinn asked her friend.

Brittany stopped watching the brunette and turned towards Quinn. "Thanksgiving just barely passed and you're thinking about Christmas?" She took a sip of her water in order to avoid eye contact.

"Yes." Quinn replied evenly. Brittany knew why Quinn was asking about Christmas and Quinn knew she was trying to avoid this conversation.

"I haven't thought about it yet, Q." Brittany responded honestly.

Just then Santana appeared beside them with a tray of food. She set Quinn's veggie burger down, followed by Brittany's mystery dish. Brittany looked down to find some sort of pasta with shrimp. She smiled.

"I love shrimp." She said looking up at Santana.

"Good, I figured you didn't have some sort of allergy or you would've told me about it." Quinn let out a stifled giggle and Santana glanced at her. "Or, at least, I'd hope so."

Brittany frowned at her food, "That would have been the smart thing to do I guess. I'm allergic to mushrooms."

Santana looked back at Quinn, hoping to find some sort of clue as to whether or not Brittany was joking, but she was no help. "Well, there's no mushrooms in there so you're good." Santana stated as she turned back to Brittany. The blonde smiled at her and Santana politely nodded again and walked back to the bar.

She reached the bar and sat across from Kurt, who was drying some dishes.

"Having fun with the ladies?" He questioned and waggled his eyebrows, earning him a glare from the Latina. "Which one?"

Santana's features softened but she didn't respond. She knew he was asking which one she would be interested in but she wasn't in the mood to play along with his addiction to match making.

"Is that even a question Kurt?" Rachel joined them at the bar. "I may not be into girls but even I can see that the shorter one is the one Santana would go for."

"The taller one does look a bit like a hot mess."

"Obviously."

Santana looked back towards the two blondes and blocked out the noise of her friends discussing her "type" of woman. Quinn was obviously more put together. She dressed classier and she had very proper mannerisms. Brittany dressed like she didn't care. Santana had caught Brittany staring at her a few times since they met and she figured Quinn wouldn't be caught dead staring at anyone. She couldn't deny it; they were both beautiful. Still, there was something about Brittany that intrigued her.

"Hello? Santana?"

Santana turned back towards her friends to find them looking at her expectantly.

"Which one would you go for?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"Just humour us." Kurt encouraged.

Santana sighed. No matter how much these two irked her, she couldn't dislike them. They didn't always get along but somehow they had become her best friends and her roommates. "The taller one, Brittany."

"You know her name?" Kurt asked as a smile found its' way to his face.

"Both of their names. Quinn, the shorter one, introduced them for some..."

"Hold on." Rachel interrupted. "You would go for Brittany? She looks like she hasn't slept in days. Not to mention, she seems incredibly uninterested in the conversation with Quinn. It's only polite to pay attention to your date."

Santana stood up, she'd had enough of this ridiculous conversation. "Don't be so quick to judge, Manhands. Maybe it isn't a date." She turned and walked away, leaving Rachel with her jaw hanging and eyebrows knit together in disbelief.

"Don't look so surprised." Kurt nudged Rachel's arm. "You know she means it with love."

The rest of dinner for Brittany and Quinn had gone relatively quietly. There wasn't much conversation and the silence was comfortable. They were used to being around each other and they didn't need words to appreciate the company.

"Hey, hope the food was good." Santana came to the table and picked up the empty plates.

"Fantastic. Thanks." Quinn offered her a friendly smile.

"Two bills or one?"

"Just one. It's my treat this time." Quinn smiled and winked at Brittany who smiled back.

Santana nodded and walked briskly towards Rachel at the bar. "Fine, you were right, it is a date."

As Santana got their bill, Brittany and Quinn started to get ready to leave. "You don't actually have to pay. I can afford a place like this."

"I want to pay. Like you said, these dinners are my idea anyway." Quinn assured her friend.

Santana brought them their bill, told them to go to the bar when they wanted to pay, and said her goodbyes.

"I'll just be a second B." Quinn told Brittany as she made her way to the bar. Brittany looked around the diner, trying to spot Santana. She saw her at the other end of the diner cleaning off another table. She wasn't sure why but she felt the need to talk to the Latina again. Brittany swiftly made her way through the diner and beside Santana.

"Thanks for the shrimp."

Santana jumped and turned to Brittany. "Jesus!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"No it's fine. Um, you're welcome. I'm glad you liked it."

"Also," Brittany looked down at her hands, still embarrassed that she had not thought to notify Santana of her allergy earlier, "thanks for not killing me with mushrooms."

Santana let out a slight chuckle and Brittany lit up when she realized the woman was smiling. "Anytime you want to have dinner and not die from an allergic reaction, you know where to find me." Santana said while holding out her arms, gesturing to the diner.

"Great, I'm counting on it."

"Come on Britt." Quinn called from the doorway.

Brittany nodded to Quinn then turned back to Santana who was still smiling at her. "Bye Brittany."

Brittany's smile grew, "See you later Santana."

The blonde turned on her heel and walked out of the diner. Santana couldn't help but notice what Brittany had said, and more than that, what she had implied. That beautiful, mysterious blonde would be back, and Santana couldn't wait.


	2. Pancakes and Shrimp

Brittany did not have a good sleep. She woke up multiple times throughout the night and by the time she was finally able to get some rest she was awoken by the sounds of Quinn rustling around in the kitchen. She groaned loudly, not afraid of Quinn hearing, and rolled over to look at the clock. 10am. She let out a long sigh before rolling out of bed.

Quinn was busy tidying up the kitchen. She had made enough delicious pancakes for herself and Brittany. She glanced at the clock. 10 am. Then to the plate of untouched pancakes. Brittany used to be a morning person. She would often wake up before the sun, have a quick breakfast and then run around the block while the sun was rising. Now Brittany was lucky if she fell asleep before sunrise.

A half asleep Brittany stumbled into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Good morning Britt." Quinn greeted happily.

Brittany made some sort of sound to let Quinn know she was awake, barely. Quinn sat down kitty-corner to Brittany and took a good look at her friend. It was clear she had not had a good nights sleep.

"Have you been taking the pills Dr. Bentley gave you?" Quinn asked cautiously.

Brittany groaned and rested her head in her hands. "They don't work Quinn."

"Well maybe if you stayed on them for more than a day…"

"I'm not having this conversation." Brittany stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Quinn alone and aggravated.

Brittany walked back to her room and started getting ready. She listened to Quinn clean the dishes and when the water stopped it only took a few seconds before her friend was knocking on the door. Brittany stopped and stayed perfectly still.

"I'm going out. There's pancakes on the counter for you if you're hungry." Quinn waited for a response but she didn't get one. Maybe Brittany had fallen back asleep.

* * *

It's not that the pancakes Quinn had made didn't look appetizing, its just that Brittany had other plans in mind.

Brittany opened the front door to the Spotlight Diner and made her way to the podium at the front. The man standing at the podium gave her a big smile. Brittany smiled back and glanced at his name tag. Kurt.

"Welcome to Spotlight Diner!" Kurt beamed at her. He looked behind him at the dining area and Brittany was sure she heard him sigh. "Right this way."

She followed him to the opposite side of the diner than where her and Quinn had been the night before. He directed her to a booth that looked out to the street.

"Your server will be with you in a minute."

Brittany took the down time to look around the diner. She saw the shorter brunette waitress coming towards her but she couldn't spot Santana.

"Hello, my names Rachel. I'll be your waitress today. Should we start with a drink?" This woman was clearly better at pretending to like her job than Santana was. She was smiling so big that Brittany could hear it in her voice.

"Yeah, um, water please."

"Coming right up!"

As the small brunette walked away Brittany heard the bell above the door ring and Santana walked in. She ducked her head and quickly walked behind Kurt, avoiding his gaze. Brittany couldn't help but smile at the sight of the Latina.

Kurt turned around and saw Santana already half way through the diner. "It's about time!" He called over to her.

"Calm yourself Lady Hummel. Gunther isn't even in today."

"Your bosses absence isn't an excuse for tardiness Santana." Rachel countered easily while making her way back to Brittany's table.

Santana rolled her eyes as she made her way behind the bar to slip her uniform on.

"Here's your water." Rachel smiled at Brittany, setting down the glass.

"Thanks."

Santana looked up at the sound coming from the direction Rachel had headed. Sitting at the table was a beautiful blonde with striking blue eyes; Brittany. Suddenly tying her apron became significantly more difficult. Before she even realized she was staring, Kurt came up behind her and started tying her apron for her.

"See something you like?"

"Shut. Up." Santana harshly whispered over her shoulder to Kurt.

"You have a customer." He pointed across the diner in the opposite direction of the blonde. She let out a quick, loud sigh before turning around, only half prepared to work.

"What do you recommend?" Brittany asked the waitress.

"I'm a vegetarian so the only thing I've actually had is the veggie burger."

"Hm," Brittany studied the menu for a few more seconds before asking, "do you have a shrimp pasta thing? I had it last night but I don't see it anywhere."

"We used to, it got taken off the menu a while ago." Rachel saw Brittany frown into the menu. "But we have the ingredients for it. I can put in a special request."

"Oh, no it's-"

"Really the chef won't mind. It isn't busy this afternoon." Rachel smiled at the customer and pulled out her notepad. "So where's your date today?"

"My date?" Brittany's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, the woman from last night." Rachel elaborated as she wrote Brittany's order down.

"Quinn? No, no she's not-"

Rachel's eyes widened and she looked up from her writing. "Oh my god I'm so sorry. I didn't mean you seem, um, I wasn't just assuming you prefer the comfort of other women. I mean, she paid and…"

"Whoa, hey take a breath." Brittany interrupted. "I am attracted to women that way so don't feel too bad, but Quinn is just my friend and my roommate." She said with a shrug.

Rachel was stunned by the blondes honesty. Brittany recognize the look, she new that she was overly honest. She enjoyed figuring people out but she didn't want any time spent on them figuring her out. She was an open book; what you see is what you get.

Rachel shook her head slightly. "I uh, I'll go put in your order."

Brittany nodded and fought off the smile that threatened to creep up as she watched the brunette awkwardly step away.

Rachel practically sprinted towards Santana, glancing over her shoulder periodically to make sure Brittany was where she left her. She ran around to the other side of the bar so she was standing right beside Santana, practically breathing down her neck.

"Personal space Berry!"

"She is into women and Quinn is just her roommate." Rachel squealed into Santana's ear.

"How…?"

Rachel shrugged. "She just sort of… told me."

* * *

The rest of lunch was uneventful for Brittany. She ate her meal and paid her bill in peace, all the while keeping an eye on the intriguing Latina that was busy working. On her way out she saw Santana walk to the bar and start pouring some drinks. Quietly, Brittany walked up to the other side of the bar, and sat down just in front of Santana.

When Santana felt eyes on her she looked up to see magnificent blue ones staring back.

Brittany smiled, "Hey."

"Hey."

"So the shrimp dish isn't on the menu anymore." Brittany pointed out and played with a glass that was sitting on the bar. Santana didn't even mind that she would have to get a new, clean glass.

"It's the best thing that's ever been on the menu though. I have no idea why they took it off."

Brittany picked up the glass and turned it around in her hand. She brought it up to eye level and looked at Santana through the glass. Santana's brow furrowed and Brittany smiled at her warped image.

Brittany put the glass back down and stood up. She started backing away, "Thanks for the shrimp." As she turned around to walk out Santana looked down at the glass, still confused.

"See you later!" Santana called after Brittany.

The blonde smiled to herself. "I can't wait."

* * *

Santana had worked a later shift than Kurt and Rachel so she was fully prepared to be bombarded with the blaring sound of show tunes when she got home. She was however, not prepared for her roommates to be calmly sitting at the kitchen table, waiting and ready, with dinner in front of them.

Santana took off her jacket and slowly made her way to the table where her friends were sitting patiently and silently smiling at her.

"Have you two finally lost it? Am I going to be murdered tonight?"

Rachel's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "What? No! Can't we make and enjoy a nice meal with our friend without being accused of planning homicide?"

"Besides, if anyone in this household were to go crazy and kill someone we all know it would be you." Kurt added pointedly towards Santana.

She shrugged and sat down at the table with them. "Point taken." She looked down at the stir fry that was on her plate then back up at Rachel.

"Don't worry, yours and Kurt's are real meat."

Santana's eyes narrowed as she looked between both of her friends. This was very odd behaviour even for them. Since living with these two she had tried to teach herself to expect the unexpected, but no matter how many times you tell yourself that, it doesn't change the fact that you can never actually expect everything.

Rachel wasn't the best cook, the only one that could really cook was Santana; Kurt enjoyed baking. Rachel's lack of cooking ability didn't keep her from trying, but they very rarely ate together. On a typical night Santana would come home and fend for herself while her roommates watched every musical known to man.

Santana cautiously picked up the fork and took a bite of her food as Rachel watched her and leaned in closer. Kurt started to take a bite of his and as soon as Santana swallowed her stir fry Rachel clapped her hands together.

"So, we need to talk." Rachel said as she sat back in her chair.

"I knew there was a catch!" Santana pointed at Rachel accusingly.

Rachel's eyes widened and she leaned towards Kurt whisper loud enough that Santana could still hear, "I thought you said food would make her happier."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "You barely let her take one bite."

Rachel straightened up and folded her hands on the table in front of her, sending Santana a big smile to which Santana glared in return.

"You and Dani broke up about 5 months ago and you haven't had a... Relationship since then." Rachel cleared her throat. "Brittany is... Attractive?"

"Was that a question?" Santana cut in.

Rachel continued, ignoring Santana. "Kurt and I think you need to..." Rachel hesitated, thinking of the right way to word this. "Expand your social circle to include said blonde."

Kurt was now looking at Rachel with narrowed eyes as well. He turned to Santana, "What she's trying to say is that you obviously find something interesting in this Brittany girl. We think you should take the chance and just try to get to know her better."

"Instead of removing her from your life like you do with every other girl you find interesting." Rachel added, earning herself a quick, stern look from Kurt. Rachel shrugged, "It's true."

Santana pushed her chair away from the table, "Alright, listen carefully. Lady Hummel, you have only had one boyfriend in your life and Manhands here has only had two. One of which threw eggs at her. So excuse me if I don't want to take advice from an inexperienced elf and a rejected troll."

Santana picked up her plate of food and left the kitchen leaving Kurt and Rachel staring at an empty chair.

Rachel turned to Kurt, "I think that went well."


	3. Milkshake Façade

**AN: Short chapter but plenty more to come! Thank you for all the favourites/follows/reviews. It means so much to me.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Brittany looked across the road towards Spotlight Diner then glanced at her phone. The diner would be closing shortly and Brittany didn't want to keep the staff there any longer than they needed but, she was starting to miss seeing Santana.

She crossed the street, reasoning that it would be a quick visit and if Santana weren't there then she would just leave. Easy as that.

When she walked in she wasn't greeted by anyone at the podium like usual. She looked around to see that the diner was completely empty except for an older man behind the bar. She was ready to leave when she saw a familiar Latina walk past a window that led to the kitchen.

The man looked up at her, "Sit anywhere you like."

At that point it would be much too awkward to turn and leave so, Brittany sat at the booth where her and Quinn had been their first time visiting the diner.

The man opened the door to the kitchen and called in, "Lopez you're the only one left and there's a customer. Deal with it."

Brittany could hear Santana groan but she came out from the kitchen anyway, notepad in hand. When Santana saw who the customer was she smiled and ducked her head shyly.

"Hungry?" Santana asked as she walked over to the table.

"Not really…" Brittany replied. Santana gave her a puzzled look. "Are the milkshakes here any good?"

"Very. Vanilla's totally the best. But, I love vanilla ice cream so…" Santana shrugged.

"Sounds great! I'll have two."

"Another hot date?" Santana asked, sending Brittany a wink.

"Not quite." Brittany smiled up at her.

Santana smiled back and nodded. She picked up the menu that Brittany hadn't used and walked back to the bar.

Brittany watched as the beautiful brunette walked away. _Not a date… but definitely hot. _She thought to herself.

It wasn't long before the waitress was back with two milkshakes. "Here you go." She placed them both in front of Brittany since she wasn't sure where the second one was supposed to go.

"Thanks!" Brittany pulled one closer to her and pushed the second one to the other side of the table and pointed to it. "That one's yours."

"Mine?" Santana waited patiently as Brittany took a sip of her milkshake.

"Yes." Brittany said as if Santana were the crazy one. "You said vanilla was the best. This," she pointed at the milkshake again, "is for you."

"Hm." Santana nodded slowly. "One sec."

Santana quickly walked back to the kitchen door and pushed it open slightly. Brittany heard her say something about an intermission and before she knew it the Latina was back and sitting right across from her.

"When we take breaks here we have to say we're taking an intermission." Santana scoffed. "Gunther really goes all out with the theme of the place."

Brittany nodded, she liked the theme and the milkshake. "You were right. The vanilla milkshake is the best."

Santana let out a small laugh. "You haven't tried the other kinds."

"I don't have to try them to trust your judgment."

Santana smiled and quickly caught herself staring at the blonde. She cleared her throat, trying to organize her thoughts. "So, I haven't seen you around in a few days."

"I've been busy with work and stuff." Brittany's voice got softer and she was frowning into her milkshake.

Santana, noticing the change in the woman, finally really looked at her. She definitely looked tired, or worn down. Her hair was messy and she clearly had not bothered with makeup tonight, nonetheless Santana found her to be absolutely beautiful. She wondered what made such a radiant woman look so down. Maybe Brittany really was just tired from work. "What do you do?"

"I teach dance to rich kids at a studio a couple blocks from here."

"And you don't enjoy it?" She could tell by Brittany's tone.

"Not anymore, no." Brittany finally looked back up at Santana. "I used to love dancing. I used to dance all the time, for no reason at all, with someone really important to me. Now it doesn't feel special anymore and it just feels like work."

Santana nodded, she knew that feeling all too well. Generally Santana wasn't an open person, but she couldn't help herself around this woman. "I used to love to sing. Well, no I still love to sing. I'm just not sure how I can make a living from it. Back in high school I was determined to become some big music star you know? After coming here…" She hesitated slightly before admitting, "this city can make you feel really small."

"So you aren't from New York?"

"Nope." Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm from Ohio."

Brittany laughed at Santana's clear distaste for her home state. "I'm from Pennsylvania."

"Have you lived here long?"

"About two and a half years. After high school I moved here with," Brittany looked down at her hand that was now fidgeting with a napkin. "someone. I've never really seen the city though."

"That's too bad. This city's great if you ignore the rude jerks on the street, who always seem to be in a hurry." Santana said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Apparently it worked because she heard Brittany giggle slightly. "Seriously though! Where does everyone have to rush off to on a Saturday afternoon?"

"You didn't get the memo? There are weekly meetings for all New Yorkers every Saturday." Brittany stated factually.

"Oh really?" Santana played along and raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. We learn how to constantly look busy and stressed. It's all a big hoax. There are even seminars on how to properly and efficiently elbow people when you walk by them."

"That explains a lot." Santana sat back and looked as though she were actually considering this to be fact. "I've been fooled by the New York City façade."

"Well, now you can start going to the meetings. We could go together some time." Brittany winked at Santana.

"I can think of way better things to do on a Saturday." Santana glanced at Brittany to see if she had noticed the accidental subtext in that statement. By the smirk on her face, she had. "Like sleep in." Santana quickly added.

"Right, sleep is good." Brittany agreed.

Santana nodded and turned her focus to the half finished milkshake in front of her.

"Lopez!" Gunther yelled from the front of the diner, pulling both women from their thoughts. "Lock up, it's passed close and I'm leaving."

Before Santana could even respond, the man was out the door.

Brittany looked back towards Santana. "I guess we better go."

"Fine, if we have to." Santana let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

Brittany stood up and grabbed her milkshake glass. "You'd rather stay here?"

Santana joined her and they walked back to the bar. "You have no idea what I have to go home to." She took Brittany's glass from her and put both of them on the bar. Brittany put some money down beside the glasses. "Thanks for the milkshake Britt."

Brittany smiled at the nickname, and the fact that Santana hadn't noticed she used it. Or maybe she just didn't care that she had. "You're the one that made it."

"Anyone can make a milkshake."

"Just like anyone can pay for one." Brittany countered and Santana narrowed her eyes at the blonde who was smiling. "Thank you for making me a milkshake Santana."

"Fine, you're welcome." Somehow Brittany's smile grew even bigger and Santana felt her heart swell at the sight. This woman in front of her was clearly bothered by something that had happened to her, but when she smiled it was like all the pain disappeared from her features and all that was left was true, pure happiness.

"See you later." Brittany was walking backwards through the diner.

"You're becoming a regular." Santana offered her a genuine smile because she didn't mind the idea of seeing Brittany on a regular basis.

"That's the plan."

* * *

The door creaked as Brittany tried to quietly sneak into the apartment. She heard Quinn shuffling from the couch and at that moment Brittany wished she made a bit more money so they could afford a place with quiet doors.

"Where the hell have you been?" Quinn asked in a scratchy, half awake voice.

"Having a milkshake."

"A milkshake? What time is it?"

Brittany looked at the clock. "Late. Why are you out here?"

"Because I was waiting for you." Quinn sat up and Brittany sat in the chair across from her.

"You don't have to wait up for me. I am an adult you know."

"I know that B. You just don't have the best track record." Quinn bit back, causing Brittany to wince from her harsh tone. Quinn shook her head. She didn't want to upset Brittany. "I worry about you that's all. You're my best friend."

"And you're mine." Brittany squeezed Quinn's knee and they shared a smile.

"So, a milkshake?"

"Mhmm… vanilla. It was yummy."

"You just went and had a milkshake all by yourself?" Quinn eyed her friend curiously.

"There may have been company."

"Good."

"Good?"

"If you were out late at night having a milkshake on your own I would be worried." Quinn stood up and stretched.

"You worry anyway."

"True, but now you're home so I can go to bed." She walked over to the counter in the kitchen, grabbed something and walked back to Brittany. "And so should you." She set a full bottle of pills down on the coffee table. "Good night Britt."

Brittany stared down at the little bottle until she heard Quinn's bedroom door close. She picked up the bottle and turned it until she could read the label. _Celexa._ She was originally given these pills to help with the depression and anxiety that came after Sam disappeared, but she hated how they made her feel. She didn't want to feel down but she also didn't want to feel nothing. They made her tired and numb. Quinn assured her they would eventually help her feel more normal and that, until then, they would at least help her sleep.

She opened the bottle and shook it until a pill fell out onto her hand. She held it up and looked at it. It was small and pink and looked like any other pill, but this was no Advil. This was the pill the doctor gave her so she would get over losing Sam. Is drugging yourself until the point that you don't feel the pain really getting over it?

She put the pill back in the bottle, quickly screwed the lid back on and placed it on the table. She left the bottle there, walked back to her room and collapsed onto her bed. She felt the bed sink slightly and opened one eye to see her cat, Lord Tubbington, curling up beside her.

She scratched under his chin and he began to purr. "Looks like it's going to be another sleepless night Lord T."


	4. A Little Un-Sober

**AN: Thank you for all the alerts guys! Happy Glee day... maybe? I guess we will see how it goes. **

**Here's the next chapter! After this one is when it starts to really pick up ;) enjoy!**

* * *

Quinn stood in the middle of the living room and turned in a slow circle, giving it one last check. The room was spotless and everything was in its' proper place. Perfect. She looked over at the clock. Her study group would be there soon but more importantly, Brittany should have been home over an hour ago.

Quinn sat on the couch and took a deep breath. "She's an adult Quinn. No need to worry." She told herself. It didn't matter how many times she said it though, she couldn't convince herself not to worry about Brittany tonight. Today was the 2 year anniversary of the day the men showed up at Brittany's door and told her Sam would not be coming home.

There was a knock at the door and Quinn quickly walked over, silently hoping Brittany had forgotten her key. When she opened it to see her study group standing there her heart dropped but she offered them a forced smile.

"Come in." She stepped to the side and let her friends in.

"Ready to get your study on girls?" One of them asked.

"Definitely. I'm worried about this exam. I mean, it's a psychology exam. The professors are practically trained in the art of messing with students." Another replied as they all sat around the living room and took out their books.

Quinn picked up her textbook and sat on the floor. This was a really important exam for her and she needed to concentrate. Brittany would be fine.

* * *

After two hours straight of studying the group had stopped reading and started debating the legitimacy of a dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder, diagnosis.

Just when the debate started to turn into an argument the front door flew open. Quinn looked over to see Brittany falling in and using the door handle for support.

"I think the door got stuck." Brittany looked up and saw Quinn sitting with her friends. She nodded to them and closed the door behind her. "Quinn. Quinn's friends." She saluted them and started pulling her shirt up while walking through the room. Some of them stared at her in confusion while others tried to look away politely.

Quinn turned back to her friends and shot them a quick smile. "I'll be right back."

She ran down the hall and followed Brittany who now had her shirt off. She guided Brittany into her room and shut the door. "What are you doing?"

"We have guests Q. I need to change."

"And you couldn't have waited until you got into your room?" Brittany shrugged and Quinn watched as she stumbled around in her closet. It was easy to see the gleam of sweat on Brittany's body and just then Quinn realized her friend had stumbled in without a jacket. "Where were you? Why are you so late? Why are you sweating?"

Brittany turned around and looked up at the ceiling while she tried to think of the right answers. "A bar. Because I was at a bar. And because I'm hot?" Brittany hadn't realized she was sweating until Quinn pointed it out.

"Brittany there is snow on the ground out there and you have no jacket. How could you possibly be hot?" Brittany shrugged again and pulled on a new shirt. "How much did you drink?"

"I don't remember Q, it's kinda all a blur." Brittany walked over to Quinn and put both her hands on either shoulder. "I took your advice though."

"Which advice?" Quinn asked and folded her arms across her chest.

Brittany smiled and held up her pointer finger, signaling Quinn to wait. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills and handed it to her friend. Quinn took the bottle and gave Brittany a worried look. She opened it and, to her relief, the bottle was not empty. It was missing quite a few pills but she could tell it wasn't enough to be real dangerous. Not with them being antidepressants.

"This was not my advice Britt!" Quinn yelled at the taller blonde.

Brittany walked around Quinn and sat on the bed. "You told me to take the pills, so I took the pills."

"You took more than you're supposed to and you took them with alcohol!"

"Shh." Brittany shushed her. "We have company."

Quinn threw her hands up. "I don't care about them Britt I care about you. You can't just stay out all evening, not call and then come home like… like this!" She gestured towards all of Brittany. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and lowered her voice. "Look, I know what today is and I get it. But it's been two years B and you need to start moving on. I've been trying to help, I really have, but I don't know how much longer and I can keep this up. You tell me not to worry, you act like you're fine but I can tell you aren't and then you go and do stuff like this? I just don't know what to do anymore." Quinn took a breath and pressed her lips closed tight in order to stop her rant.

Brittany stared down at the bed where her hands were clenched tightly to the sheets. She could feel the pounding of her heart in her head and she was sure Quinn could hear it. She stood up and the room started to spin around her. Quinn was quick to grab her arm and stabilize her but Brittany pulled her arm away.

Brittany turned around from the door to face Quinn and shrugged one shoulder. "You're right." Then she turned around and walked out of the apartment, avoiding the stares from Quinn's friends.

* * *

Brittany had no idea where she was going; she started walking and she couldn't stop. Quinn was right. It had been two years since Sam disappeared and Brittany had let her life be taken over by grief. Her only friend was Quinn, she spent all of her time at either work or home and she hadn't talked to her family since the funeral, which she was against having. She knew Quinn was trying to help and part of her wanted to accept it but she didn't think anything Quinn could do would really help. If she refused to cooperate then she would never know if she was truly a lost cause.

She stopped walking and looked around to figure out where she had ended up. She looked at the street sign and realized she was just down the street from Spotlight Diner. Figuring the diner would be closed by now, and that she didn't want to see Santana while she was like this anyway, she sat against the wall and buried her face in her hands. If everything would stop spinning it might be easier to think.

She reached into her pocket, hoping to find her phone but there was nothing there. Out of the corner of her eye she saw people walking towards her. She looked down the road at them and realized it was Santana and Kurt walking home from work. They were talking and hadn't noticed her sitting on the ground ahead of them.

Just then a cab drove by and stopped beside Kurt and Santana. A short, but attractive, guy with hair that had far too much gel in it, stepped out and they greeted him happily. He waved to Santana then gave Kurt a sweet kiss. Brittany watched as they talked for a second before Kurt and the other man got into the cab. Santana waved at them through the window and they drove off. When Santana turned back towards Brittany the blonde felt the need to get up and run. She stood up too quickly and everything started to spin faster. Soon, Brittany found herself back on the ground with her eyes closed.

"Britt?" The dancer opened her eyes and the sound of Santana's voice.

"Oh, hey Santana."

"What are you doing down there?" Santana stared down at her and Brittany could see the worry in her eyes.

"I was out for a walk and I… needed to sit down?" Brittany replied uncertainly. Santana's brow furrowed in confusion. Brittany stood up, much more slowly this time. "Hey, do you want to go out tomorrow night?"

"Out? Like, a date?" Santana asked nervously.

"Exactly like a date."

Brittany could tell Santana was thinking about it.

"As long as I can choose what we do." The Latina said with a smirk on her face.

"Deal!" Brittany smiled at her.

Santana watched as Brittany wavered on her feet. There was clearly something off about the blonde and Santana was sure it had something to do with the glazed look in her eye. "It's pretty late. Are you heading home?"

Brittany looked down the street that lead back to her apartment. She hadn't thought about what she was going to do now. "Totally, yeah." She turned away from Santana and started walking down the street, trying hard to keep her balance.

Santana walked up beside Brittany. "I'll walk with you." She smiled at the blonde. There was no way she was letting her walk home alone in this condition. Brittany crossed her arms in front of her and Santana noticed that she wasn't wearing a jacket. "Britt what the hell? You're going to freeze."

"I'm fine. I was really really hot earlier anyway."

Santana took her jacket off and placed it over the blondes shoulders. "Here. And don't argue." She was wearing a heavy sweater underneath anyway and Brittany was in a t-shirt. Brittany accepted the jacket without any argument because she actually was freezing. Santana glanced over at the blonde and bit her lower lip. She might regret this, "You aren't… sober, are you?"

Brittany looked down at the ground. "I'm a little… un-sober." When Santana didn't respond Brittany started to panic. Had she scared her away? "Sam."

Santana furrowed her brow at Brittany. "What?"

"Sam. He's who I moved here with. Two years ago he went missing and he never came back."

"Missing how?"

"Like, nobody can find him."

"Right…" Santana knew this was a conversation that would have to wait until Brittany was more herself.

"Brittany!" Both of the women looked up to see Quinn waiting at the stairs to their apartment building. "What the hell B! You left without your phone so I couldn't get a hold of you and I had no idea where you were; you can't just do that to me! I don't care if we had a fight you can't do that shit to me Britt!" The smaller blonde wrapped her arms around Brittany.

"Sorry Q." Brittany hugged her back. "But I'm fine. Santana found me."

Quinn pulled away from her friend and eyed the woman beside them. "I see that." After realizing Santana wasn't going to break eye contact Quinn continued, "Thanks."

"Any time."

Brittany leaned forward and rested her forehead on Quinn's shoulder who let out a small laugh. "Alright B, time for bed."

"Yes please." Brittany stood up as straight as she could and sent Santana a quick smile. "Night San."

Santana smiled back at the blonde. "Goodnight Britt."

Brittany started to head up the stairs and turned around suddenly. "See you later!" She called to the Latina.

"Tomorrow night." Santana winked and Brittany lit up at the reminder.

Quinn looked between the two then settled for eyeing Santana. "Tomorrow night?"

"We have a date." Brittany responded with a giddy smile.

"Oh you do?.." The shorter blonde narrowed her eyes at the brunette who was now backing away.

"I'll pick you up at 7:30 Britt. Dress warm."

Quinn looked back up at her friend who was busy watching Santana walk away. She hit Brittany's arm to get her attention. "A date?"

The look in Quinn's face was unreadable. What if she was angry? Confused? She knew Brittany wasn't straight. Brittany opened her mouth, preparing to defend her choice to go out with the mysterious brunette. Before she could say anything Quinn started smiling. Brittany smiled back as Quinn walked up the stairs so they were on the same level.

Quinn wrapped her arms around Brittany as tight as she could. It may have been a long, hard road but they got here. Brittany was trying to move on. "Let's go inside Britt."


	5. Wishes Do Come True

**AN: Thank you again for all the favourites/follows/reviews. They mean so much to me!**

**Time for the date!**

* * *

"You're lucky you know."

Brittany looked over to Quinn who was going through her jewelry. "How so?"

"You're lucky that, even though you were messed up last night, Santana still agreed to go out with you." Quinn turned to the taller blonde. "You could have blown it."

Brittany turned away and looked at herself in the mirror. Other than tired, she looked ok considering how last night had gone. "Aren't you supposed to tell me she's the lucky one?"

Quinn smiled and stood beside Brittany. "Real friends tell it like it is." She held up a necklace she had picked out from Brittany's assortment of unused jewelry. "You should wear this."

Brittany looked at the reflection of the necklace that was hanging beside her. It was a necklace she had received as a birthday present a few years ago from Quinn's mother. It was beautiful and Brittany loved that necklace. She shook her head; she couldn't wear it. "I'm gonna be wearing my jacket and stuff. She won't even see it."

Quinn eyed the necklace Brittany currently had on. She could only see the gold chain since it was tucked under Brittany's shirt, but there was no doubt in Quinn's mind that attached to that chain were two gold rings. She held the necklace up to herself. "Well, maybe I'll wear it then."

"Do you have a hot date I should know about?" Brittany waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

Quinn laughed. "Oh please."

"You could always call…"

"Nope." Quinn cut her off. "Don't start Britt."

Brittany's smile disappeared. "When's the last time you talked to him?"

"You know when." Quinn put the necklace down and sat on Brittany's bed. "Him and I have an understanding. He's part of my past. I'm working on my future."

Brittany picked up the necklace and sat on the bed behind Quinn. She lifted it over Quinn's head and started to do it up. "Just because you guys have a complicated past together doesn't mean you can't be in each other futures."

Quinn looked up to the mirror and saw her friends smiling reflection. There was a knock at the door and both blondes froze. Quinn with an excited smile and Brittany nervously biting her lip. Quinn jumped to her feet and started running for the front room.

"Quinn! No!" Brittany yelled as she chased after he friend. She caught up just in front of the door and wrapped her friend up in her arms, holding her from answering. She lifted her up, with some struggle, and dropped her onto the couch. "I'm answering the door!"

Quinn smiled up at her friend innocently. Brittany smoothed out her shirt and walked half way to the door before turning around. "Stay!" Quinn raised her arms in defeat.

Brittany took a deep breath and opened the door. Standing there was Santana in a beanie, scarf, winter jacket and boots. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold. She looked adorable.

"You look adorable." It had slipped out but Brittany couldn't regret it when she saw Santana's cheeks get slightly pinker. "Come in I just have to put on my stuff."

* * *

Santana and Brittany sat on a bench in Central Park and watched as the snow fell around them. Well, Brittany watched the snow; Santana couldn't pull her eyes away from the gorgeous blonde beside her. Brittany glanced over at Santana and smiled when the brunette looked away as fast as she could. She knew Santana was staring but she didn't care. She actually found herself enjoying it.

"This city really is pretty isn't it?" Brittany asked, trying to alleviate some of Santana's embarrassment.

"Yeah it is." Santana cleared her throat. "My roommates, Rachel and Kurt, are the ones that are really in love with the city. Don't get me wrong I like it here, it's a hell of a lot better than Lima, but I hate the cold. I always imagined myself somewhere like Los Angeles."

"Then why did you bring me here for our date?"

Santana shrugged. "Even if it's cold, it's still beautiful. I thought you'd like it." She suddenly looked worried. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No, this is perfect San." Brittany crossed her legs and sat sideways on the bench so she was facing Santana. The brunette looked at Brittany curiously then looked around. People were walking by and a couple gave Brittany an odd look, earning them a glare from the feisty Latina, who then copied the blondes position. "Why did you move here if you want to be in Los Angeles?"

"Well… I went to Kentucky first, on a cheer leading scholarship, and that was terrible. I moved back to Lima because I thought I missed it but I think I just missed the people." She rolled her eyes. "Rachel and Kurt suck like, 80% of the time but we've been through a lot together. High school was confusing and messed up and somehow they helped me get through it. So I showed up one day at their apartment and asked to move in." A smirk appeared on her face. "Ok, I told them I was moving in."

Brittany laughed, "They sound like great friends."

"Friends is a strong word. We… beneficially coexist." Santana could tell by the confused look on Brittany's face that she didn't understand. "We don't exactly get along like friends are supposed to. They have so much in common and they're perfect for each other but me? I'm nothing like them. But we balance each other out I guess."

That was something Brittany could understand. "Quinn and I have been best friends since freshman year of high school. We were cheerleaders together, we both dated football players. We were the most popular girls in school. But we're completely different too. She's super smart, I've always had problems with school; dyslexia and all. She's so… sophisticated compared to me." Brittany smiled. "I think she never learned how to have fun though. So that's why she had me."

Santana loved listening to Brittany talk, which was a very unusual feeling. "So you moved here with… Sam," Santana paused and watched Brittany for any sign that she shouldn't ask about him, but Brittany's smile barely faltered. "for... Dance?"

Brittany nodded. "He was in the military and it took me an extra year to graduate high school so, we stayed in Pennsylvania for a while until he convinced me we should move here. He always wanted me to be a professional dancer; to follow my dreams and all that." Now her smile disappeared and Santana wished she hadn't brought him up. "He was my fiancé. Two years ago wasn't his first time going over seas but it was his last," she let out a weak laugh, "because he never came back."

Santana looked down at her hands. "I'm so sorry." For her loss and for bringing it up.

Brittany wiped a couple tears that threatened to fall and stood up from the bench. Santana sat perfectly still, unsure of what to say now. She had completely screwed up. Making Brittany cry on the first date was definitely not in the plan. This couldn't get any worse. How would she fix this? What could she do now?

Just then something hit her shoulder. Something cold; a snowball. She looked over to Brittany who was smirking playfully. Santana looked at the people around them, at first she was worried about the looks they would get. But people in this city were too wrapped up in their own lives to care, and even if they did give them strange looks, Santana didn't mind. If she was going to be stared at she wanted to be stared at with Brittany.

"You crafty little blonde." Santana glared playfully. Brittany shrugged cutely before being hit with a snowball Santana had been making.

Brittany let out a small shriek as she ran off the path and away from Santana. The brunette was up in a flash and racing after Brittany in no time. Before Santana could catch up to her, Brittany ran around a tree and hid on the other side.

Santana stopped running when she reached the tree. "Britt, I saw you go behind there." She smiled at the thought of Brittany trying to trick her. She slowly walked around the tree and was met with a face full of snow. "Ah! Britt!" She yelled as Brittany grabbed her around the waist and pulled them both to the ground.

Brittany was leaning over Santana. "Sorry!" She apologized but couldn't keep herself from giggling as she brushed the snow off of Santana.

Santana playfully glared up at Brittany. "For some reason I doubt that."

Brittany smiled down at the woman. "I would be more sorry if I weren't practically on top of you right now."

Santana was stunned by the comment. She had definitely not been expecting that. Brittany stood up and offered both hands for Santana. The brunette grabbed her hands and allowed herself to be pulled up. Santana's heart dropped when Brittany dropped her right hand, until she realized the woman was still holding her left.

"Come on." The blonde smiled at Santana, pulling her arm slightly.

They walked down the path and Santana watched as other couples passed by them. Other couples. Was that what her and Britt were now? She looked to her left at Brittany, who was completely entranced by the falling snow, and the glowing lights of the city.

"I really like New York. Especially at this time of year." Brittany said, while keeping her attention to the sky. "But the one thing I miss is seeing the stars super clearly. I can't see them from my apartment but I still wish on them." Brittany looked at Santana, who was still staring at the blonde but didn't look away this time. "Have you ever wished on a star?"

"Not since I was little." Santana replied.

"Why not?"

"Because it never worked. I learned wishes don't come true, you just have to be happy with what you get." Brittany frowned at Santana's lack of faith in the stars. "Have you had a wish come true?" Brittany nodded. "What was it?"

Brittany stopped and turned to face Santana. "You."

Santana stared into Brittany's eyes. They were like ocean blue orbs and Santana wanted nothing more than to float away in them. Brittany started smiling and Santana smiled back, letting out a small, shy laugh. "That was really corny." She lightly pushed Brittany's arm.

"Hey, it made you smile." Brittany pushed back and linked her arm in Santana's.

"Only because you're such a dork." Santana teased. They made brief eye contact again before Santana rolled her eyes and added. "An adorable dork."

* * *

The two women made their way back to Brittany's apartment at the end of the night. It was a quiet walk but not an awkward one. Their arms had remained linked for the rest of the evening and were still linked as they turned onto Brittany's street.

Brittany stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face Santana, finally dropping her arm. "I had a lot of fun tonight."

Santana smiled at the blonde. "I did too."

"You know, I wasn't joking when I said my wish for you came true." Santana gave Brittany a weird look and she realized she had to explain. "No, I mean. I didn't wish for a beautiful woman named Santana to agree to go out with me. I wished for a reason to move on."

Santana knew instantly that Brittany was talking about Sam. "You didn't want to move on?"

Brittany looked down and shrugged. "His body was never found; he went missing in action. There's a part of me that always wanted to believe he's still alive. It's not like I had much without him. I had nothing else to be happy about; to look forward to. No reason to let go of him." Brittany looked back up at Santana and the brunette felt her heart ache at the brief moment of pain she saw before Brittany started smiling. "I don't know what will happen with us but I do know that, when I'm with you, I feel like myself. I don't feel empty anymore. You make me feel like I want to let go of what happened with Sam. So, wishes definitely do come true."

Santana couldn't stop her eyes from glancing down at the blonde's lips. This woman was beautiful, inside and out. When Brittany smiled, Santana had to remind herself that this is the woman that walked into the diner looking like she had given up, the woman that looked sad and hurt, the woman that had lost her fiancé. That smile was so radiant that, if she didn't remind herself of all those things, she would easily think Brittany was the happiest person in the world. Maybe, in this moment, Brittany was happy. Santana leaned in closer to Brittany who responded by leaning in as well.

Brittany looked down at the Latina's eyes; they were dark with passion and it was easy to get lost in them. Santana looked up and locked eyes with Brittany but stopped moving closer. She was letting Brittany take the last step. _Just kiss her. _Brittany told herself. _Do it._

Brittany put her hands on Santana's shoulders and pushed herself away from the brunette. She could see the confusion and pain in Santana's eyes, but that soon turned to understanding. Brittany wasn't ready and Santana was willing to wait. But still the blonde should know, "I won't hurt you. I promise."

The dancer shook her head. "Don't promise me anything."

Santana furrowed her brow. Did Brittany not trust her? "I won't break it."

"I know." Brittany assured her. "I just don't like promises."

"Then what am I supposed to say?"

"How about," Brittany looked up and started thinking, causing Santana to smile, "see you later."

"Isn't that a promise?"

Brittany smiled. "No, it's just something to look forward to. Not exactly a commitment... Consider it a cliff hanger."


	6. A Different Kind of Smart

**AN: Friday could not come faster... until then, enjoy this chapter! Santana shows a bit of her sweet/cute side.**

**As usual, thank you for the support guys! It means everything to me.**

* * *

"Ok everybody, good job today." Brittany clapped her hands together, signalling to her students that they were finished for the day. "I want you all to practice the routine on your own. When we come back next week everybody should know it like the back of their hand."

A few of the students nodded at her but most of them were too busy talking amongst themselves. She looked through the room of students. They wouldn't practice because they didn't care and they didn't want to be there. Truth be told, Brittany didn't either. She ran her hand through her hair and left the studio, making her way down the hall to her office. It wasn't a large office, but because she was a permanent teacher, and the studio had far too much money, she had a room that was her own. Brittany liked her office. The room had a small desk with a computer, a white board on the wall, a small end table and two chairs. It had no windows and most people would have considered it cramped but Brittany thought it was comfortable.

She sat down at her desk and started going through emails. She deleted most of them until she came across one with the subject of "Missing you". She opened it to find it was an email from her mom asking if she would attend Christmas with them this year. She stared at the words on the screen for a while before filing the email under 'Deal with later'.

"Excuse me, Ms. Pierce?"

Brittany looked up to see a woman standing in her doorway. The woman was wearing expensive clothes and jewellery and, if Brittany had to guess, she would say that the woman had clearly had some work done to her face. These were the people Brittany was used to seeing. She dealt with them on a daily basis but that didn't make it any easier. This was a parent of one of her students.

"That's me." Brittany responded with a forced smile.

"I'm Harold's mother." Brittany nodded, she knew Harold. He was one of the few quiet and polite kids. "Harold told me that he wasn't given a solo for the Holiday Show."

"The solos are given to the more experienced dancers." Brittany explained.

"My Harry is a great dancer. Much better than some of those other kids you have dancing out front. He deserves a solo."

Brittany offered the woman a smile. "Harold is a good dancer, but he's also new. This is his first year and there are students that have more experience and have been waiting for a solo for years. If he puts the practice in and works hard there's a good chance he'll get a solo in next years Holiday Show."

"You're saying I have to wait a whole year to see my Harry dance a solo?" The woman scoffed.

She was really getting on Brittany's last nerve. "Well, no. You could go home tonight and ask him to show you what he's learned. I bet he'd appreciate that."

The woman turned and left the room without even saying goodbye. Brittany rolled her eyes as she listened to the fading sound of heels against the floor. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Of course she couldn't get through one day without an angry parent bugging her about something. Not every kid got to shine, and most of them didn't want to either. Why couldn't their parents understand that.

"Rough day?"

Brittany's eyes shot open and she looked towards the door. "Santana?" She smiled. "What are you… Wait how did you find me? I didn't tell you where I work."

Santana shrugged and leaned against the door frame. "There are only so many dance studios around the diner and I had the day off."

Brittany giggled at the thought of Santana walking into dance studio after dance studio until she found the blonde she was looking for.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course! Sorry."

Santana walked into the room and started looking around. Brittany didn't mind; she had nothing to hide. The Latina noticed the walls were covered with awards and medals, all of which were for dance competitions and some of which were even fairly recent. There's no way this woman disliked dancing. In the middle of one of the walls there was a picture of Brittany with a bunch of kids. Some were hanging off of her, others were hugging her but all of them were trying to be close to her. It was adorable. Santana took a step closer to the picture. The kids didn't look rich, in fact, they looked fairly poor.

Brittany noticed Santana's fascination with the picture. "A few years ago I volunteered at a camp that was teaching dance to the less fortunate. Those kids actually wanted to learn, they appreciated it." She walked over to stand beside Santana and admired the picture. "That's my favourite thing in this whole office."

Santana looked at the blonde and admired the smile on her face. She really did love that picture. "Hey, I got you something." Santana turned around and walked out of the office. Brittany looked around, unsure if she was supposed to follow or not.

"Santana?" She called after the brunette.

Santana walked back in carrying a picture frame. She turned it around to reveal a painting of New York. It was a nighttime setting and the sky was filled with glowing stars. "I thought maybe you could put this in your apartment or something. Then you can see the stars whenever you want."

Brittany stared at the picture; it was perfect. She looked up at Santana; she was perfect. "It's..."

"If you don't like it I can take it back." Santana cut Brittany off. "I don't even know if you have a place for it but I saw it and it made me think of you so… Yeah." Santana shrugged like it was no big deal.

Brittany took the painting from Santana and leaned it against the wall. She turned back to the shorter girl and hugged her. "I love it."

At first Santana was surprised but it didn't take long for her to hug the blonde back. Brittany was really good at surprising her. _Expect the unexpected_. She rolled her eyes at herself. She knew that was impossible, besides, she kind of enjoyed these surprises.

Brittany pulled away and looked down at the painting again. Santana felt her heart swell with joy. "I'm really glad you like it."

"Love it." Brittany corrected. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing. I have the night off."

"Would you like to come over for dinner?" Brittany asked nervously. Santana hadn't really seen Brittany nervous up until now. What did that mean? "Quinn wants to meet you. Officially."

"Introducing me to your best friend slash roommate? It's getting serious." Santana joked. Was it a joke? "I'd love to."

* * *

This was no joke. Santana stood outside of Brittany's apartment trying to ready herself for this. Quinn meant a lot to Brittany so this really was a big deal. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door flew open almost instantly and there stood Brittany with a smile on her face.

"Come on in. Quinn's just making dinner." Santana nodded but Brittany could tell she was a bit confused. "I don't cook. I've tried but I can't really… Understand the recipes."

Brittany looked embarrassed as she took Santana's coat. She had nothing to be embarrassed about though. "I'm an excellent chef so, I can cook for you." Santana said, just above a whisper, and winked at Brittany.

Brittany smiled and turned to hang up Santana's coat before the Latina noticed the blush on her face.

"I don't let Britt anywhere near the oven any more." Quinn called from the kitchen. "The last time she tried to boil water she almost caught the apartment on fire."

Santana looked at Brittany who shrugged shyly.

* * *

Brittany looked between the women sitting at the table with her. She wanted nothing more than for these two to get a long. Dinner had been quiet. Brittany knew Quinn wanted to like Santana, since she supported the first date, but she was also very protective of Brittany. The way Quinn kept eyeing Santana made the dancer think this wasn't going to be easy.

"Santana was a cheerleader in high school." Brittany told Quinn and Santana nodded. Maybe if they could find some similarities this would go smoothly.

"And for like, half a year in college before I dropped out." Santana added.

"Dropped out? So you aren't in school or anything?" Quinn asked. Brittany knew this wasn't a good start. Quinn valued education over almost everything. She was currently working on her masters degree in psychology and, after that, planned to get her PhD. She used to pressure Brittany into going back to school but Brittany was able to convince her friend that she didn't need to go to school and that she could make a living doing what she does.

"No, right now I just work at the diner. I realized I didn't want to be a cheerleader my whole life. I wanted to do something more."

"So you became a waitress." Quinn responded, earning a glare from Santana. Quinn didn't even flinching.

"Some people don't know what they want to do right out of high school Q. We can't all be like you." Brittany interrupted before things got out of hand.

Quinn smiled at Brittany. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's cool that you were a cheerleader. Britt and I were too."

Brittany nodded. "It's actually how we met. We were both cheerleaders. Quinn became head cheerleader in our junior year."

Santana looked at Quinn; she seemed like the head cheerleader type. Santana would know, she was the head cheerleader at her school.

"I may have been the head cheerleader but Britt here was always the best one." Brittany blushed at the compliment. "Well, I have to go meet with my study group so I will leave you two alone."

They cleaned up the table and said their goodbyes. Brittany let out a sigh of relief after shutting the door behind Quinn.

"She doesn't like me does she?" Santana asked from the living room.

Brittany walked in to find Santana looking around at the different pictures and decorations they had around the apartment. "She's just protective. Don't take it personally."

Santana nodded but kept looking around. She came across a picture with four people in it. Two were cheerleaders and two were football players. She looked a bit closer at the picture. "This was your high school cheer outfit?"

"Yup." Brittany stood beside Santana. "Why?"

"We totally faced you guys at Nationals. At least twice that I remember. Junior year you guys won. It's easy to remember because it's practically the only year my school didn't win."

"McKinley?"

"Yeah." Santana smiled at the memories. She really did enjoy cheer leading.

Santana looked back at the picture. Brittany looked beautiful, as usual, but she also looked extremely and genuinely happy.

Brittany noticed the way Santana was studying the picture. "The blond guy is Sam." She told her. She could see Santana tense. "The other one is Puck. Well, Noah but everyone calls him Puck. Him and Quinn had… A thing."

"You look happy." Santana pointed out in a quiet voice.

"I was." Brittany didn't hesitate to respond. "I enjoyed high school for the most part."

Santana finally pulled her gaze away from the picture to look at the blonde. "For the most part?"

"Yeah. I'm dyslexic and I just have a hard time understanding stuff. So people made fun of that a bit. Everyone thought I was stupid…" She paused for a second and looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "I guess I kind of am when it comes to things like school."

"You aren't stupid." Santana's harsh tone cause Brittany's brow to furrow. "You're just a different kind of smart."

Brittany felt herself being pulled towards the stunning brunette in front of her. This woman knew what to say. She made Brittany feel like she was finally living again, and Brittany wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

Suddenly Santana jumped away. One minute Brittany was sure they were going to kiss and the next, Santana was backing away from her. Brittany looked at Santana to realize she was staring at something. She followed the brunettes eyes to find Lord Tubbington. He had jumped up on the couch beside them and was now staring right back at a startled Santana.

"You have a cat." Santana stated.

"Yes."

"A really fat cat."

Brittany gasped and picked up the cat. "Don't listen to her Lord T. She doesn't mean it."

"Oh I definitely mean it." Santana corrected as Brittany walked over to her with the large cat in her arms.

"Santana meet Lord Tubbington. Lord Tubbington, Santana."

"So you can call him Lord Tubbington but I can't call him fat?"

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Give him a pet. He deserves it after the name calling."

Santana looked up at Brittany hesitantly. She had never been much of an animal person. They never had any pets growing up. No dogs, cats, hamsters or even fish. She did not want to pet this giant cat, but Brittany's hopeful look was impossible to deny. Santana lightly scratched the top of the cats head and he closed his eyes, appreciating the attention.

"I think it likes me." She couldn't help but smile.

"You're right. I think _he_ does." Brittany responded, putting emphasis on the word he. She put Lord Tubbington back down on the couch. "But who wouldn't? There's nothing not to like; you're amazing San."

"And you're perfect." Santana moved closer to Brittany.

"I'm far from perfect."

"Not as far as you think."

Brittany looked down at Santana's hand that had found its way to her hip. "This is scary for me."

Santana pulled away from the blonde but only so she could get a clear look at Brittany's face. She wasn't lying when she said she was scared, that much was obvious. But there was something else that Santana could see. Something that made the Latina's breath catch in her throat; desire. "We can go really slow." She leaned in to place a kiss on Brittany's cheek but at the last second the blonde turned her head and for the first time, their lips met.

Santana felt like she was floating. She closed her eyes. It felt like everything around her disappeared and all that was left were her and Brittany. And they were being carried away from all the problems of the past.

Brittany felt like she was falling. She didn't want to open her eyes and face the aftermath of this kiss. She was falling and the only way to stop was to hit whatever was below her. So she did.

Brittany pulled away slowly from Santana and braced herself for the impact. For the rush of guilt and pain that came with abandoning what she had with Sam. Santana opened her eyes and looked up at Brittany. Those beautiful brow eyes that she constantly got lost in were filled with adoration and Brittany felt the same way. There was no guilt, no impact. Maybe she wasn't falling; maybe she was floating.


	7. The Beat of a Healing Heart

**AN: As usual... Thank you! The feedback means everything to me. I'm so happy people are enjoying the story because I'm having a blast writing it.**

**Who's excited for tomorrow? I know I am! Ok ok, enough small talk let's get to what's really important shall we? Enjoy!**

* * *

Santana was at work, sort of. She was physically there but her mind was wandering to the evening she had spent with Brittany. While they were saying goodbye, Brittany had asked Santana if she could now meet Rachel and Kurt since Santana met Quinn. At first, Santana declined. There was no way she wanted to introduce Brittany to her weird, musical obsessed, hyperactive roommates. However, after looking at Brittany's adorable pout she reluctantly agreed. Brittany would meet Rachel and Kurt tonight.

"Earth to Santana." Kurt waved his hand in front of her to get her attention.

"What?"

"You have a table waiting." He pointed towards a young couple that looked bored out of their minds. "What's with you today? Feeling ok?"

"I'm fine." She assured her friend. "Just, Brittany is going to come over tonight."

"Come over to...?"

"To our apartment. She's meeting me here after my shift and we're bringing a late dinner home." Santana looked at Kurt who was just staring at her with his jaw hanging. "So, you and Rachel can eat without us."

Santana tried to walk away before Kurt could respond but he grabbed her arm and stepped in front of her. "Hold on."

"I have a table Kurt." She tried to step around him but he didn't let her pass.

"You're telling me that Brittany, the cute blonde you've been spending so much time with, is coming over to our apartment... Tonight?" He looked at her, clearly waiting for a response. Santana nodded slowly. Kurt started smiling so big that Santana was surprised he didn't hurt himself. "This is so exciting! Ok go serve people!"

Suddenly Kurt was running to the kitchen leaving Santana in his dust.

"Rachel!" Kurt quickly made his way through the kitchen and to the break room. "Rachel!"

Rachel was on the phone when Kurt ran in. "Sorry, I'll call you back." She put her phone into her pocket. "What Kurt, what's wrong?"

"Santana invited Brittany over... Tonight!" Rachel looked at the man who was smiling back at her. "We get to meet Brittany!"

"She actually invited someone over?" Rachel questioned. Santana was not prone to taking people home to meet them. It took many months of persistent badgering for her to introduce them to Dani so, the fact that they were meeting Brittany so soon was unusual and exciting.

"Yes!" Kurt clapped his hands together and let out a noise that resembled a squeal.

* * *

Work had been annoying for Santana, but not because of the customers or her boss. No, work had been annoying because Kurt and Rachel had not stopped obsessing with the idea of meeting Brittany that night.

Santana was busy filling a large order of drinks when Rachel and Kurt came walking up behind her. They were out of their uniforms and ready to head home for the evening.

"I gotta feelin'" Rachel started to sing from behind Santana.

"That tonight's gonna be..." Kurt continued before being cut off.

"Nope. Stop. Both of you stop." Santana was now facing them with wide eyes. She looked more afraid than angry. "Tonight when Brittany is over, all of this," she waved her hand around, dramatically gesturing at both of her friends, "needs to cease. You two need to be normal for like, just one night."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at the Latina. "Looks like someone is hoping to impress a certain blonde beauty."

Santana rolled her eyes and tried to brush off the blush that was creeping up her neck. Rachel smiled brightly and grabbed her hands. "Don't worry Santana we will be the most gracious of hosts!" She dropped her friends hands and started to walk out of the diner. "Just relax, we have it all under control!"

Santana let out an audible sigh. At that moment, she was very far from relaxed.

* * *

"Hey." Santana turned quickly, startled by the voice behind her. She laughed at herself when she realized it was Brittany, waiting patiently outside the diner like she said she would be.

"Hey." She smiled at the blonde who was now holding both of her hands. Brittany pulled Santana close and kissed her gently. After their lips parted, Santana was still smiling. "Best greeting ever."

"Agreed!" Brittany beamed. She held up a bag of take out that was hanging from her wrist. "I've got dinner."

"How fancy. You spoil me Britt." Santana winked at Brittany.

"You deserve nothing less than the best Chinese food that is within walking distance from the diner."

Santana laughed; Brittany was adorable. "You know, your place is closer. We could just go there and have dinner."

"Will Kurt and Rachel be there?" The blonde questioned, even though she knew the answer. She hooked her arm around Santana's and started leading them down the street.

"Well... No. But it's cold out here. We don't want our dinner to get cold."

"It's already cold. We need to heat it up silly." Brittany looked over to Santana to find the Latina biting her lip. "You're nervous."

Santana shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"It wasn't a question." She leaned over and placed a soft kiss to Santana's cheek. "I'm sure I'll love your roommates, and even if I don't, that won't change how I feel about you."

* * *

Brittany stood beside Santana, patiently waiting for her to open the door to her apartment. It was clear the Latina was nervous as they had been standing there, looking at the door, for almost a whole minute.

"We don't have to do this." Brittany told her, and she meant it. No matter how much she wanted to meet Santana's roommates she never wanted to make the woman feel uncomfortable.

"No it's fine. It's only right. I mean, I met Quinn." Santana turned the handle. It couldn't be as bad as she was thinking.

Santana opened the door to reveal Rachel and Kurt standing under a banner that hung from one side of the room to the other. There were balloons and streamers around too but Santana couldn't pull her eyes away from the giant banner.

Brittany looked at the banner for a while before slowly reading it out loud. "Congratulations it's a girl?" She looked down at the two happy friends standing under it. They were clearly proud of their work and Santana was clearly fuming. Brittany burst out laughing. She tried to control herself but she couldn't. She looked over at Santana and shrugged. "It's accurate."

Santana looked at the blonde, who had stopped laughing and was now trying to hide her smile. Suddenly, she didn't feel as angry. She turned back to her roommates with a glare. "Explain."

"This was the only banner they had left that made any sort of sense." Kurt explained.

Rachel nodded in agreement. "You should have given us more time to prepare."

"You didn't have to prepare at all!" Santana had a momentary lapse in her self control.

"San, it's fine." Brittany put her hand on Santana's arm, hoping to calm her down. "I think it's kinda cute."

Rachel and Kurt watched carefully as Santana's anger dissipated. Clearly this blonde had power over Santana, something they had never seen before.

* * *

Brittany had started the evening with one goal; get Rachel and Kurt to like her. Shorty into the meal Brittany realized that would not be a difficult task. The two seemed perpetually cheerful.

"So are you a lesbian?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Rachel who gave them a confused look in return. "What? It's a valid question."

Brittany looked at Santana who was staring, wide eyed, at her friend. It was a valid question. Santana knew about Sam and she knew that Brittany was also interested in women. There had to be part of her that was curious about Brittany's sexuality, but too polite to ask. She deserved an answer. "I wouldn't label myself as a lesbian."

"Bisexual then?" Rachel asked.

Brittany thought about it. Bisexual… Having an attraction to two different sexes. That didn't seem right either, gender just didn't matter. "Not really… I'm just attracted to nice people."

Kurt laughed. "Well that takes Santana out of the running."

Brittany's brow furrowed in confusion; Santana was an amazing person. She looked at Santana. The brunette was aimlessly moving her food around her plate. She didn't seem upset by the remark. Did she agree with him? "Santana is a great person." Brittany defended.

This time it was Kurt and Rachel who were confused.

"I never said she isn't a good person." Kurt corrected. "She just has a bit of a mean streak."

Brittany looked at Santana again. They couldn't be talking about the same person. This is the woman that ordered her a special meal at the diner, brought her to Central Park, and surprised her at work with that amazing painting.

"Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Santana said, clearly hoping to change the subject.

Brittany made a mental note to ask Santana why her friends thought she was so mean. Now wasn't the time. "How did you guys meet?"

"We all grew up in Lima. It's not that big of a town so, we've known each other forever." Santana answered quickly.

Rachel nodded. "Well yes, but we weren't really friends until-".

"Grade 10." Santana cut her off and Rachel looked confused.

"Until Glee club." Rachel finished.

"Glee club?" Brittany had heard the term but she wasn't familiar with what it was.

"Yes. Like show choir." Rachel beamed. "We sang and danced and competed across the country."

Brittany looked at Santana, who was now blushing. "That sounds fun."

Santana shrugged. "It was something to do. A way to sing in front of crowds."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Deny it all you want but we know you loved it."

"How could she not? We had so many great times in that choir room and on stage together."

Santana watched as her friends made eye contact. She knew what was coming. "No, please!"

"It's astounding, time is fleeting. Madness takes its' toll." Kurt started and looked towards Rachel. "But listen closely."

"Not for very much longer." Rachel added.

"I've got to, keep control." Kurt continued.

Brittany watched the two sing as Santana tried her hardest to block everything out. Eventually Kurt and Rachel stood up and prepared to dance with the song.

"It's just a jump to the left." Kurt sang but before they could do anything Santana was standing in front of them.

"Jump... I dare you." She threatened.

Brittany couldn't help but smile at how clearly embarrassed the Latina was. She really had nothing to be embarrassed about, Brittany loved to sing and she used to love to dance. To be honest, if she knew the song she would be up there with them.

"She's enjoying it Santana." Kurt pointed at Brittany.

Santana looked back at Brittany and the blonde nodded. "I would join in but I don't know the song."

Rachel smiled, ran over to Brittany and sat down right beside her. She put both hands on Brittany's arm. "Next time you start and we will join in. I doubt you could find a song that Kurt and I aren't familiar with."

Santana sat down across from Rachel and Kurt joined them. "That's a song from Rocky Horror." He explained to Brittany.

"I've never seen it." She looked at Santana. "We will have to watch it some time."

"Or right now!" Suddenly Rachel was running to the TV and putting in a DVD.

"Look what you've started." Santana whispered to Brittany with a wink.

* * *

The movie came to a close and the four of them sat there talking for a while, but it was getting to the point in the evening when Santana was hoping her roommates would make themselves scarce. "Don't you have school stuff to work on or something?" She asked them.

"No, we're on winter vacation Santana. You know that." Rachel looked genuinely confused.

"Uh, yes. We do. We should go work on that musical number that we have to perform after the break is over. Remember?" Kurt, not so subtly, hinted at Rachel and pulled her away as she attempted to convince him they didn't have anything to work on.

Brittany smirked at Santana. "Smooth."

Santana shrugged. "We don't need them around all evening."

"You're right. Alone time would be nice, wouldn't it?" Brittany shuffled closer to Santana, but stopped just a few inches short of their lips touching. She looked to her right.

Santana followed her gaze to find Rachel standing behind the couch, looking right at them. "Rachel, what the hell are you doing here? You literally just left!"

"I wanted to make sure you two were having fun." She smiled at the angry Latina.

"We would be having more fun if you weren't watching us like a creep."

"Fair enough. Just let me..." Rachel swiftly made her way around the couch to an iPod that was hooked up to speakers beside the TV. She turned it on and a romantic slow song started playing. She turned around to face the other two women and smiled. "There."

Santana watched Rachel leave the room in disbelief. Rachel needed to mind her own business. She was about to apologize to Brittany when the blonde started giggling. "She's weird... I like her."

"Really?" Santana questioned. Brittany nodded. "They are pretty out there. I was worried that they would scare you away or something."

Brittany smiled and kissed her. "Maybe you haven't noticed but I'm not the most normal person either. I tend to get along with odd people."

"What does that say about me?" Santana joked.

"That you are oddly amazing, duh."

Santana looked at Brittany's smile and couldn't help but remember the picture on the wall of the dancers office and the picture of her in her cheer uniform. The smile on Brittany's face at that moment wasn't the same smile from the pictures. Brittany was happy, but there was something missing. Santana wanted to make Brittany that happy, but she couldn't bring Sam back. Maybe she could help remind her of something though.

Santana stood up and took Brittany's hand. "Come with me."

Brittany followed the brunette over to the window. Santana opened the curtains and the window and a gust of cold air came rushing in. Brittany shivered slightly before noticing that Santana was guiding her to look outside. The blonde moved closer to the window and looked out. Outside was a sky full of stars. "Wow." Was all she could get out.

"We live in a darker part of the city so, most of the time you can actually see the stars." Santana kept her eyes on the blonde and Brittany noticed.

"Don't you want to see the stars?" Brittany asked.

"I've seen the stars before and I'll see them again. I've got something much more beautiful to look at right here." Santana smiled when she saw the blondes face turn red. She leaned in closer to the window and looked up at the sky. "I do need them for one thing though."

"Oh?" Brittany quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"A wish. I wish that..." Santana turned her gaze towards Brittany. "A beautiful blonde would dance with me tonight."

"I'll give Quinn a call."

Santana rolled her eyes and added, "Named Brittany."

Brittany looked back out at the stars and Santana waited patiently for a response. After a few moments, Brittany looked down at her hands that were resting on the window sill, her left was less that an inch from Santana's. "Dancing is supposed to be romantic. I'm not that good with words so dancing was always a way for me to connect with someone in ways that I couldn't through talking. I'm good at cheering people up and stuff but that's just because I can make them laugh. Telling someone how you feel is a lot harder than saying something stupid to make them smile. After Sam disappeared, everything that made dancing feel special went with him. Now when I dance I feel empty and sad instead of whole and happy."

"Dancing can make you feel that way again." Santana held out her hand for Brittany. "I promise."

Brittany hesitantly gave her hand to Santana but shook her head. "Don't promise."

Santana looked up at scared, blue eyes. She was determined to make this woman happy. She would not back down from this. "I promise."

Before Brittany could respond, Santana was leading them in a slow dance around the room. Brittany felt the familiar feeling of emptiness; like something was missing. Someone was missing; Sam. She looked up into Santana's eyes. She was not him and she never would be. But, maybe she didn't need to be.

She rested her head on Santana's shoulder and took in her scent. It felt foreign. Sam had been a lot like Brittany, not very good with words and unsure how to show how much he cared. He was completely open and smiling all the time. He was a happy person and he made Brittany happy. Santana knew how to show how much she cared, and she surprised Brittany constantly with romantic gestures. Brittany never doubted that she meant something to the brunette. Santana had built strong walls to keep people out and she rarely smiled to anyone other than Brittany. She did not always seem like a happy person, but she was when she was with Brittany and that made the blonde happy too. Santana made Brittany happy; she made her whole.

Santana felt a drop of wetness fall onto her shoulder; Brittany was crying. She didn't mind if Brittany cried on her but she silently hoped that the tears were not due to pain. The romantic playlist came to an end and the music stopped. Santana loosened her grip on Brittany but the blonde didn't let go. She didn't want this moment to end and Santana was completely content to stay like that for the rest of the night.

They had stopped moving and we're now just standing in the middle of the room with their arms wrapped around each other. Their bodies were pushed so close together that Santana could feel Brittany's heart beat against her own chest. The beat of a healing heart.

Brittany took a deep breath before standing up straight and wiping her eyes. "Thank you." It came out quiet and raspy but Santana had heard.

"I keep my promises."

* * *

**Lyrics used from: I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas**

**Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show**


	8. Being Us

**AN: Thank you everyone for the feedback and such! I meant to post this Friday but I didn't finish writing chapter 9 (due to a certain proposal distracting me!) and I have a rule to stay one chapter ahead of what I post.**

**For anyone who has concerns or is confused: This is a Brittana fic, not Bram. This isn't to say I don't like Sam because I do. I love his character, he just isn't meant to be with Brittany in my mind.**

**Also, to the guest that reviewed about the description (even though they probably won't see this) I edited it to hopefully be less misleading. **

**That's all for now! Please don't hesitate to leave a review, PM me or find me on Twitter (treecklove) if you have any feedback. Every little bit is appreciated!**

* * *

Things were going great, and that made Santana nervous. Brittany was everything she ever wanted. She was funny, kind, sweet, adorable, generous, well the list could go on forever. It seemed perfect, but Santana had learned that nothing ever was.

She was walking home from a long day of work when her phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey San." Speak of the perfect blonde devil.

"Hey Britt. What's up?"

"Just sitting in my office and thinking." Santana could hear the smile in Brittany's voice.

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"You." The honesty in her voice travelled through the phone and straight to Santana's heart. "And Rachel and Quinn and Kurt."

"What about us?" Santana was slightly confused but mostly curious.

"We haven't spent time together. Like all of us at the same time." This was true. They had spent a good amount of time with their friends separately but the roommates had yet to meet. "I was thinking that we could all go out tonight."

"Where?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The blonde teased.

Santana smirked. "Yes, I would."

"Well you're going to have to wait and see."

* * *

Santana stood outside the bar and stared at the sign. It was a bar called _Voices Carry _but it wasn't the name of the bar that was catching her attention. It was the sign that read _Karaoke Bar_.

The brunette winced at the sudden shriek of her friends. At least someone was excited. "I'm not going in there."

Brittany frowned at Santana. "Come on it'll be fun."

"I have to deal with Kurt and Rachel singing all the time. Why would going to a karaoke bar with them be fun?"

"Because I'll be there." Brittany moved closer to Santana. "And maybe I could finally hear you sing."

"No." Santana shook her head.

Brittany sighed. "Fine you don't have to sing, but please come in with me? I promise it won't be as terrible as you think."

Santana looked up at Brittany and felt her defences crumble. "Fine, I'll go in."

"Yay!" Brittany smiled and gave Santana a quick peck before pulling her in to follow their friends.

By the time they reached the table Quinn was settled at, Rachel and Kurt had already made their way to the front of the bar to pick out a song.

Quinn smiled at the two women as they sat down beside her in the circular booth. "Are you going to sing tonight?" She asked Santana.

"She doesn't want to. And we won't make her." Brittany answered for the brunette with a smile. "I'm going to get a drink. Want anything?"

"Just water. I have work in the morning." Quinn answered.

Brittany nodded and looked at Santana. The brunette smiled. "Surprise me."

Quinn watched as Brittany walked towards the bar, waiting until she was far enough away before striking. "You're an idiot."

Santana looked around, realizing it really was only her and Quinn there, the woman had to be talking to her. "Excuse me?"

"If you haven't noticed, Brittany is a very open person and she values sharing every part of herself with the people she cares about. The problem is, she wants the same thing from them." Quinn turned to glare at Santana. She was starting to get used to the fact that the Latina didn't back down to her stare like most people did. "She brought you here so you could open up and sing. Not to her, not for her, but just so you could sing and she could hear it."

Santana narrowed her eyes at Quinn. "Why would she bring me to a public place if she wanted to hear me sing?"

"Would you prefer singing for just her?" Santana's features softened; Quinn had a point. Santana was used to performing for crowds, singing in public meant nothing. Singing for just one person; that was intimate. Quinn sat up straight as she saw Brittany coming back to the table. "Don't screw it up."

* * *

The evening had been going well. Rachel and Kurt had just finished their third performance while the other three talked, danced and just had a good time. Brittany had a few too many drinks and was now leaning against anything and everything for support. Santana didn't mind though since most of the time she was the support. She had to hand it to the blonde, no matter how much she drank she still didn't bother Santana about singing.

She looked down at Brittany who was now resting her head on Santana's shoulder while listening to Rachel and Kurt talk about their latest performance. She had the most adorable grin on her face and Santana couldn't fight off her own smile. How was Brittany so perfect?

"I think the performance was great." Quinn stated and smiled at Rachel. "Well, all of them were. You're a really good singer Rach."

Rachel's smile doubled at the compliment. "Aw, thank you Quinn! You're so sweet."

Kurt cleared his throat, drawing Quinn and Rachel's attention away from each other. "You were amazing too Kurt." Quinn complimented. "Now, I have work in the morning so I should get going."

"But Quinn," Brittany whined, "the fun is just starting."

Quinn laughed as she shuffled out of the side Kurt and Rachel were letting her out of. "I think you've had enough fun Britt."

"Never!" Brittany said under her breath and smirked.

"She can stay, I'll make sure she gets home safe." Santana offered.

Quinn stared at Santana for a minute, trying to decide if she trusted the woman enough. After seeing the way Santana took care of Brittany throughout the night, she had no reason not to. "Fine. Wake me up when she gets home though. Just so I know."

Santana nodded as Brittany cheered beside her. "We're gonna have so much fun San."

Before Quinn could walk away she felt someone grab her arm. She turned to find Rachel smiling at her. "This was fun, I really enjoyed talking to you. We should hangout again sometime."

Quinn thought about it. Rachel was nice and she did need friends outside of her study group. "I'd like that a lot." She smiled at Rachel and gave a quick wave to the others before leaving the bar.

"So do they have a lot of songs up there?" Santana asked as Kurt and Rachel sat back down.

"Yes! They have every song you could think of." Rachel responded.

Kurt nodded in agreement. "That's what made it so difficult to choose. Hence why we performed three times."

Santana looked up to the stage where nobody had been performing for a while. The crowd was dying down a bit and as people got more drunk, less of them seemed to perform. She turned to Brittany. "We'll go home soon but first, do you want to hear one of my favourite songs?"

Brittany's eyes went wide. "No. Yes. Yes but I don't want you to do that cause you don't wanna sing. You said that and I've been real good not bugging. Even though I really wanna hear you sing."

Brittany's slurred rambling made Santana giggle. "I want you to hear me sing Britt. I owe you anyway." Brittany tilted her head, trying to think of what was owed. "You danced with me remember?"

Brittany nodded and smiled at the woman. How could she forget that? Santana kissed her cheek and made her way to the front of the bar. Brittany watched her walk away before turning to Kurt and Rachel. "She's gonna sing for me."

* * *

"That was amazing!" There was no way Brittany could hide her excitement as she wrapped her arms around Santana. "You are like, the best singer ever." She heard Kurt and Rachel both scoff. "What?"

Kurt shook his head. "Nothing. We should have guessed that you would sing _Valerie_."

Santana shrugged. "It's an awesome song."

"Santana performed that song for one of our competitions in high school. You heard her sing it; needless to say, we won." Rachel told Brittany proudly.

"Then why'd you say it?" Brittany asked.

Rachel looked at Brittany, clearly thrown off by the question she didn't understand. "What?"

Santana smirked and Brittany glanced at her before elaborating. "If it's needless to say then why did you say it?"

Rachel stared at Brittany, opening and closing her mouth a few times while trying to comprehend the question. Was she being serious? "It's just a saying… never mind. What's important is that we performed that song, Santana had the solo and we won."

"Of course you did, Santana's amazing." Brittany shrugged and smiled at Santana. The Latina felt her cheeks heating up.

"I think it's time to get Britt home." Santana pointed out while grabbing her and Brittany's coats from the booth.

Brittany leaned closely to Santana. "Only if you come with me." She was trying to be discreet but Rachel and Kurt heard her loud and clear.

Kurt smirked at the blushing Latina. "We will see you at home… don't worry we won't wait up." He winked at Santana and quickly pulled Rachel away with him before Santana could retaliate.

Santana chose to ignore his comment. They could think what they want, there was no way anything would happen between her and Brittany, the blonde was far too drunk. Besides, she liked to keep them guessing. She helped Brittany with her jacket then put her own on and they left the bar.

* * *

"Look at all the lights San." Brittany was stumbling ahead of Santana and the brunette rushed to catch up to her, eyeing the people around them. "It's so beautiful. This is New York, you know? This is what makes it so awesome. It's like, every time you step out of your home there's something waiting like an adventure or something."

Santana nodded, she sort of understood what she was saying. "You don't think other cities are like that?"

Brittany thought about it for a second before smiling. "Maybe, but New York is the best one."

"Why's that?"

"Because it's where I met you." Santana couldn't help but smile back at that. Brittany was choosing to associate New York with the memory of meeting her instead of the memory of losing Sam, this had to be progress.

"You're right B, this is the best one."

* * *

At first Santana was worried about waking Quinn up when they stumbled, not-so gracefully, into the apartment, but when Quinn came into the front room and thanked her for getting Brittany home that fear disappeared. Maybe her and Quinn could get along eventually.

Quinn said goodnight to the women and went back to her room as Santana helped Brittany to bed. As soon as they entered Brittany's room, the dancer proceeded to take off her shirt. Santana had to pull her eyes away from the beautifully toned body that was being slowly revealed to her. "Whoa, do you want to get changed? I can leave."

Brittany smiled at how shy Santana was being. She easily slid her jeans down to the floor, watching as Santana's eyes widened. She grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer. "I'm changed."

"O-" Santana's voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "Ok. Bed time then, yeah?"

Brittany nodded and kissed Santana. As they parted, something caught Santana's eye. She looked down at Brittany's chest, but not for the lacy pink bra that was barely covering the woman. Around Brittany's neck was a gold chain with two rings attached to it. She could make an educated guess what the rings were from.

Brittany noticed Santana staring at the rings. She saw the look on Santana's face but, in her current state, she couldn't place an emotion to it. The pang of guilt that rang through her told her she needed to fix it though. "Come." She pulled Santana to the bed and laid down, patting the other side for Santana to join.

Santana stopped at the edge of the bed. "Britt I don't want that. I mean I do want that but just not like this."

"I know." Brittany closed her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she was. "Just lay with me?" She felt the bed sink a bit and opened her eyes to make sure it wasn't Lord Tubbington teasing her. When she opened her eyes she realized she was face to face with Santana.

"You're so beautiful." Santana told her.

"You are." She closed her eyes again. She felt safe with Santana beside her and it wouldn't be long before she fell asleep. Santana needed to know how much she meant to her. "San."

Santana's eyes were now closed as well but she smiled at the soft whisper of Brittany's voice. "Yeah Britt?"

"I want to be with you."

"I'm right here. I won't leave."

It took a couple seconds for Brittany to respond and Santana was beginning to think she had fallen asleep. "No, I mean. I want to be with only you."

Santana furrowed her brow, she didn't mean, "Like girlfriends?"

"Exactly like girlfriends."

Santana's eyes snapped open to find Brittany still peacefully laying there with her eyes closed. She hesitated, it could be the alcohol talking. She really hoped it wasn't. "I want that too Britt."

Brittany smiled. "I like being us." She mumbled before falling into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in a long time.

Santana didn't smile. There was no way to be sure Brittany had meant what she said. She turned onto her back and stared at the wall. There, right across from the bed, was the painting Santana had bought Brittany.

* * *

Quinn glanced at the clock. One hour until she had to be at work and all she had left was breakfast. She looked at her phone, she would have time to call; he would be up, or rather, he would still be awake. She picked up her phone and hovered over his name, _Puck_. Ever since last night she had felt the need to call him, but she wasn't sure why. She shook her head and tapped the name below him instead.

She listened to the phone ring. This was crazy, they probably weren't even up yet. She should just hang up. "Hello?" A tired voice answered on the other end.

"Hey, um, it's Quinn."

"Hey Quinn!" Suddenly they sounded more cheerful and less tired.

"I'm not sure what your plans are for the day but I only work the morning and I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch." Quinn chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"That sounds great! I don't work today so how about you come by my place at noon and we can go from there?"

"Perfect." The nerves started to disappear and she smiled to herself.

"Great, see you later Quinn."

"See you later Rach."

"Rach?" Quinn ended the call and looked up, surprised to see Santana standing there watching her. "As in Rachel Berry, my roommate?"

Quinn put her phone into her bag. "Yes, we're going to get lunch."

Santana nodded, this is what Brittany and her wanted. They wanted their friends to get along. "Cool."

"So, you stayed the night." Quinn stated.

It wasn't a question, because it was obvious she had stayed the night, it was Quinn's way of telling Santana that she needed to know what the hell was going on. She needed to be assured that this woman had not taken advantage of her best friend. "Yes I did. Brittany wanted me to stay." She looked at Quinn, clearly that was not enough of an explanation. "Nothing happened."

At that, Quinn seemed to relax. "Right well," She looked at the clock. She would pick up breakfast on the way to work. "make yourself at home. I have to go to work."

Santana looked around the kitchen. "Is it ok if I make Britt breakfast?"

Quinn was in the middle of getting ready to leave. "Of course. Good luck getting her to wake up for it though." She stopped before picking up her bag and smiled at the brunette. "Actually, you might not need luck."

Santana smiled back; Quinn wasn't that hard to get along with. Brittany was right, she's just protective. Santana looked around the kitchen and threw together an omelet, some toast and a glass of orange juice.

She quietly made her way into Brittany's room and put the plate on the bed side table. She leaned over Brittany and kissed her cheek. "Hey Britt, breakfast is ready." Brittany mumbled something and stirred but didn't open her eyes. "We both have today off so… the sooner you wake up, the more time we have together."

"I'm up." Brittany mumbled and stretched.

Santana picked up the plate and handed it to the sleepy blonde. "Enjoy."

"Aw San, you didn't have to do this." She smiled and took a bite of toast.

"You're right I didn't. But I wanted to." Santana settled down beside Brittany. "I noticed you have a certain picture up."

Brittany looked up at the picture hanging on her wall. "Oh yeah, some super awesome person got me that. I put it there so every night before bed I can make a wish on the stars."

"You didn't wish last night."

"Yes I did. I just couldn't say it out loud or it wouldn't have come true." Brittany stated factually while offering Santana a bite of omelet.

"It already came true?" Santana asked before accepting the food.

Brittany nodded. "Yup. I wished that you would agree to be my girlfriend."

Santana's eyes went wide and she had to force herself to swallow the omelet before she choked. Brittany had meant what she said. Brittany was her girlfriend, officially.

Santana pointed towards the painting. "That was the best investment ever." Brittany laughed as Santana tried to play it cool. "Last night you said you like being us. I like being us too B."

Brittany smiled at Santana; '_us'. _She could get used to that. Suddenly Lord Tubbington jumped onto the bed and sat right on Santana's lap. "Awe, someone's jealous." Brittany cooed.

"You don't have to be jealous Tubbs." Santana told him, while scratching behind his ear. "There's room enough for all of us."

Brittany watched as Santana pet the cat. She was still slightly awkward with him but she was getting better at it and that made Brittany's heart swell. She placed her plate on the table and shuffled so she could wrap her arms securely around Santana. "He's growing on you, isn't he?"

Santana looked at the large cat on her lap, he was kneading her leg and purring lightly. "Maybe a little."

* * *

"Are you ready yet?" Brittany called from the front door. They had just finished watching _How The Grinch Stole Christmas _and Brittany had convinced Santana to go outside to build a snowman with her.

"Britt this hat looks ridiculous." Santana complained as she walked out in a hat that had a very large pompom on the top of it.

"I love that hat." Brittany frowned.

"Ok, it looks ridiculous on me. On you, it would be adorable." Santana checked herself out in the mirror, adjusting the hat.

"I think it's adorable on you." Brittany walked over to Santana and kissed her cheek. Santana smiled at the blonde in the mirror. She was so lost in Brittany's eyes that she didn't even notice her hand moving up until she had pulled the hat down over Santana's face.

"Britt!" Santana yelled as she fixed the hat again.

"Come on! The snow's gonna melt!" Brittany called as she ran out the door.

Santana rolled her eyes and followed her girlfriend outside.

* * *

Winter is cold and Santana didn't like the cold. She wasn't looking forward to spending time in the snow and making a snowman. If anyone else had asked her she would have refused, but this wasn't just anyone else, it was Brittany. She was starting to think she would do anything for this woman. She would help her to bed when she was drunk, she would spend time in the snow, she would watch corny Christmas movies, she would even put aside her doubts and wait for Brittany to be over ex-fiancé.

"Ta-da!" Santana turned to see that Brittany had put the finishing touches on their snowman. "He's missing something though." She walked over to Santana and pulled the hat off of her head.

"Oh good, now he can look adorable too." Santana said as she fixed her hair.

"Yup!" She placed the hat on the snowman's head. "There."

Santana watched as Brittany admired her work. Brittany had an innocence about her that Santana adored. She never thought she would enjoy making a snowman so much, but Brittany's excitement and playfulness was contagious. She wanted to spend as much time with this woman as possible. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

The dancer turned to face her girlfriend. She thought back to the email she had received from her mom, the one she hadn't opened since she filed it away. She never had plans to go home for Christmas. "Staying in and watching movies."

"Alone?"

Brittany nodded. "Quinn always goes home for Christmas. "

Santana thought about asking her why she didn't go back to Pennsylvania for Christmas, but she had seen Brittany ignore phone calls from her mom; she had noticed how Brittany never talked about her parents. Santana wasn't sure what happened between them but she knew enough not to ask yet. "You should come to Lima with me."

Brittany's heart skipped a beat. Lima? "You mean have Christmas with you and your family?"

Santana closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around her girlfriends waist. "Yes. My mom always makes too much food, and she would love to meet you. Besides, it'll be more fun than staying here and watching Christmas movies alone."

Brittany's stomach turned and she suddenly regretted drinking so much the night before. Santana wanted her to meet her parents. Santana wasn't just letting her behind her walls, she was rolling out the red carpet for her. Despite the fact that it was freezing out, it felt as though the golden bands around her neck were burning holes into her chest. Since Sam's disappearance she had not celebrated Christmas. Santana was asking a lot from her without even knowing it, and Brittany wasn't sure she could give it to her.


	9. Purely Awesome Christmas

**AN: I love you all! 'Nuff said?**

**The Infinity Heart thing... I wrote that in my outline long before the latest episode of Glee haha what a coincidence. I guess it just has more relevance now.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Quinn was walking slowly behind Brittany as they made their way through the crowded mall. "You haven't spent Christmas with me once since Sam, but Santana invites you to meet her parents for Christmas and you say yes?"

Brittany stopped at a jewellery store and looked in at the various rings and necklaces. "It wasn't an easy decision Quinn."

"I realize that but I can't help but be a bit jealous. You've known her for what, a month?" Quinn put her hand on Brittany's shoulder, causing the taller blonde to turn and look at her. "I may be jealous, but I'm also extremely proud."

"Don't be proud yet." Brittany laughed under her breath. "I can't even think of a gift for her."

"Maybe you're just trying to hard to impress her." Quinn suggested as she ran her finger along the edge of a glass case that held beautiful, expensive earrings.

"Of course I want to impress her. I want to get her the perfect present." Brittany sighed.

"You don't have to spend a lot of money for the gift to be perfect. It just has to be something she will appreciate."

Brittany tried to think back to the best present she had ever been given. It didn't take her long to realize the best gift she ever received was also the most recent; the painting from Santana. It wasn't an expensive painting and it hadn't been painted by anyone famous, but it still meant more to her than any piece of jewellery she had ever been given. Quinn was right. So what was important to Santana?

Brittany started smiling extremely wide and Quinn had no idea why. "Uh, Britt? You ok there?"

"Yes!" Brittany hugged her friend. "Thank you Quinn!" She pulled out her phone and started calling someone.

"No problem, I guess?"

* * *

"We're flying to Lima from here?" Brittany asked, while stuffing her bag into the trunk of a taxi.

"Yep, you aren't scared to fly are you?" Brittany shook her head. "Good. After that we're taking a cab form the airport to my parents house."

"That's expensive San. I don't have that kind of money and there's no way you're paying for the whole trip."

Santana closed the trunk and glared at Brittany. "I'm not."

"No really I won't allow… wait what?"

"I'm not paying for it and neither are you." Santana sat down in the cab and left the door open for her girlfriend. "Come on, we can't miss our flight."

* * *

The flight had been uneventful and Brittany found it relaxing. As they made their way towards Santana's childhood house, Brittany couldn't help but noticed that the houses started to get bigger and bigger. The cab started to slow down and they stopped in front of a house. Brittany looked out the window. "Wow…" It was a house that most people would only see in magazines. It wasn't exactly a mansion, but it was much too large for two people, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

"Home sweet home." Santana said sarcastically as she paid the cab driver and got out of the car. "My parents are paying for the trip. For both of us. And don't argue, they have nothing better to do with their money."

Brittany helped Santana get their luggage from the trunk. "It's beautiful San."

"Yeah well, my parents are all about appearances. My dad's a surgeon and my mom's an attorney." She picked up Brittany's bag and started walking to the door. "They're both conservative and need to fit in with their stuffy, rich friends."

Brittany stopped walking. _Conservative? _"Do they know you're a lesbian?"

Santana turned around to face Brittany. The woman looked more pale than usual and she was biting her lower lip. "Yes. You have nothing to worry about Britt. They know you're my girlfriend." That question seemed a little odd. Santana wouldn't have put Brittany in a situation where she needed to lie about their relationship. If her parents didn't know, she wouldn't have invited Brittany to meet them.

They made it to the door and Santana rang the doorbell. Brittany could hear her heart beat and felt her chest tighten. Why was breathing suddenly so difficult? Brittany's fidgeting caught Santana's eye. She looked over at her girlfriend who looked like she was ready to pass out. She grabbed Brittany's hand and kissed her knuckle lightly. "Relax. It'll be fine, I promise."

Brittany took a deep breath just as the front door opened. "Santana!" The woman from the doorway instantly took Santana into her arms and hugged her. "And you must be Brittany. I'm Maribel, Santana's mother." Maribel hugged Brittany. "This is so exciting!" She pulled away from Brittany and faced her daughter, saying something in Spanish that Brittany didn't understand.

"Mama." Santana said in a scolding tone and nodded towards Brittany.

"Yes, yes." Maribel started heading into the house. "Come in girls, we have a tree to set up!"

Maribel was definitely not scary. Brittany hoped this was a sign that this Christmas wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

* * *

The tree was up, the lights on and the ornaments hanging. Brittany was finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. She looked through the remaining ornaments and smiled when she came across one that had, what she could only assume, was a younger Santana on it. She held up the ornament to show Santana. "Aw, a baby Santana! So cuuuute!"

Santana scrunched her nose in disgust. "The tree has enough decorations Britt. That one can just go right back in the box."

"Santana, stop it." Maribel scolded. "Brittany go put it on the tree. I have something to show you, I'll be right back."

Brittany made her way to the tree and hung the ornament. "Now the tree is done." Brittany smirked.

"Here it is. Sit. Sit." Maribel coaxed as she sat on the couch. Brittany sat beside her and looked down in the woman's lap. She had a large photo album. She opened it to the first page and pointed to a picture of a little girl, with cake all over her face, surrounded by what looked to be family. "This is Santana's first birthday."

"Mama!" Santana's face turned a deep red as she sat down on the chair across from them and folded her arms across her chest.

"And this one is Santana's first cheer competition." Maribel continued, ignoring her daughter and pointing to a picture of a much older Santana. "This one is my favourite." She pointed out a picture of Santana with a group of other people. It looked like they were in a classroom. After looking closer Brittany spotted Rachel and Kurt in the picture. This was the glee club.

"Why is it your favourite?" Brittany asked the woman.

"Look at how happy my Santana is with her friends." She replied. Brittany looked back down at the picture. Santana did look happy, really happy. She had her arm around Rachel, smiling at the girl.

They spent about an hour going through all the pictures of Santana through the years. There were birthdays, competitions, dances, parties, graduations, and any other life event you can think of. The photo album was full of pictures of Santana, and it was clear that Maribel was proud of every one of them.

Brittany looked up at her girlfriend who was now on her phone, still trying to block out the other two woman in the room. Santana felt eyes on her and looked up to find those beautiful blue orbs that she loves so much.

"I'm going to make dinner." Maribel handed the photo album to Brittany. "You two girls have fun."

Brittany waited until Maribel was out of the room before turning back to Santana. "You're mom seems really proud of you."

Santana stood up. "I'm not sure why." She walked over to sit beside Brittany. "There's not a whole lot to be proud of. I dropped out of college and became a waitress."

Brittany put her hand on Santana's and wiggled her fingers until the brunette let them slide between hers. "You have a dream San. Maybe it's on hold right now but I know you haven't given up on it. Too many people give up on their dreams, you haven't. That's something to be proud of."

Santana looked at her girlfriend. The way Brittany smiled at her made her feel like everything would work out, it made her feel like she still had a chance. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How do you always see the good in everything?" Santana had wondered this since she met the woman. Brittany saw the good in everything but herself. How could someone that has seen how bad the world can be still see all the good in it?

"I see the bad stuff too. The good stuff is just so much better."

* * *

Brittany was already laying in bed, looking through her phone, when Santana walked into her room. Brittany put her phone down on the night stand. "I have a question."

Santana started taking her earrings out. "Ok."

"Why was your dad not here all evening?"

Santana lifted her shirt over her head. "My dad's never around. He never has been."

Brittany watched as her girlfriend got changed and settled into bed beside her. "Why is he never around?"

Questions usually annoyed Santana. She hated when people asked things they should already know the answer to, or that they have no business knowing the answer to. Brittany could ask as many questions as she wanted about any topic and Santana would never get annoyed. "He says he works late a lot."

"You don't believe him?"

"When I was really little I did." She glanced at Brittany, trying to decide whether or not to share this story. She couldn't keep anything from this woman. "When I was 14 I decided I wanted to sneak out of the house to go hangout with my friends. I ended up falling from the window and breaking my arm."

Brittany frowned. "Ouch."

Santana couldn't help but laugh, despite the story she was telling. "Yeah. Anyway, my mom brought me to the hospital and while I was being checked out I asked for my dad and the doctor told me he got off at 5 that evening. When I told my mom she ignored me." She shrugged. "She knew he was cheating on her; she just didn't care. That's how my parents work. They don't love each other they just benefit from each other."

"They beneficially coexist?" Brittany asked, using the term Santana had used to describe her friendship with Rachel and Kurt. Santana looked down at her hands. At some point Brittany had started holding her hand and she hadn't noticed. "And what do we do?"

Santana looked up at Brittany. What did they do? Were they in love, meant to be, soul mates? She wasn't sure how to define what they had all she knew is that she had never felt this way with someone before. "Something much more than that Britt."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Santana had dragged Brittany out of the house just after breakfast to bring her to an undisclosed location.

"I told you it's a surprise." Santana caught her girlfriends adorable pout in the corner of her eye. "You'll enjoy it, I promise." Brittany laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Just, I'm getting used to that."

"Used to…?" Santana dragged out, encouraging her girlfriend to elaborate.

"Promises."

"Good." They turned into a parking lot and Santana stopped the car. "We're here."

Brittany looked out the window to see William McKinley High. "Your high school?"

"Yup." Santana got out of the car. "I've told you before that high school wasn't easy for me. A lot of stuff happened in this place that made me who I am today and, I want to share every part of myself with you."

Brittany kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "You're awesome San."

"I know." She replied and winked at the blonde.

They walked through the empty halls of the school. There were a few students, but not many, along with some teachers. One teacher in particular stopped and said hello to Santana but she didn't seem to fond of the former student.

"Ok Britt. Close your eyes."

Brittany closed her eyes and held her hand out for Santana, she trusted the woman. Santana led her down the hall a bit more and through a door. Brittany heard the clicking of Santana's heels start to echo. "Where are we San?"

"Open your eyes."

Brittany opened her eyes to see rows upon rows of seats in front of her, large curtains around her and a stage below her feet. "The auditorium?"

Santana looked out into the empty seats. "This is the first stage that I ever performed in front of a big crowd on. This stage is where I realized that this is what I wanted to do forever."

Brittany watched as Santana looked out into the seats, imagining them full with people ready to watch her perform. It was easy to see the glint of passion in Santana's eye; the excitement radiated off of her even just from the idea of performing for a packed audience. This is where she was meant to be. "You will do it you know?"

Brittany's voice echoed through the empty auditorium, bringing Santana out of her day dream. "I hope so." She turned to Brittany. "This is one of two places I got to be myself in high school. Ready to see the second one?"

Brittany nodded enthusiastically. She loved seeing this side of Santana.

As they made their way through the halls Brittany couldn't help but notice that Santana walked through them like she owned the place. Was she like that when she went here? From what Brittany knew, Santana was head cheerleader, popular, and feared. But she also knew that it wasn't all fun and games for her.

Santana pulled Brittany into a classroom. "This is the choir room." She sat down at the piano and Brittany sat beside her.

"Do you know how to play?" Brittany asked and nodded towards the keys.

"Not really. Do you?"

Brittany sat up straight, cleared her throat and stretched her fingers. She placed her hands lightly on the keys and started to play her rendition of the classic song; Chopsticks. Santana started laughing and Brittany glanced at her with a completely serious expression. Santana gestured for her girlfriend to continue; so she did. When she was done she smiled at the woman beside her. "I'm sort of like, a prodigy."

"Clearly." They sat in silence for a couple seconds, enjoying each others company. "I like being here with you."

"I like being anywhere with you."

Santana smiled at her girlfriends adorable innocence. "This room is the first place I was ever myself. I spent most of high school in the closet, sleeping around with guys to cover up the fact that I actually felt nothing for them. In junior year I finally came to terms with why. I realized that I wasn't attracted to any of them because they were guys. When I realized that, I got kind of depressed and stressed out and I had no idea what to do. I thought my parents would reject me, my friends would reject me. I thought I would get kicked off of the cheerleading squad." Santana paused to collect her thoughts and Brittany waited patiently for her girlfriend to be ready to continue. "Rachel cornered me one day and asked why I was acting weird. She wouldn't drop it and eventually I just unloaded everything on her. I told her that I'm a lesbian."

Brittany saw a tear run down Santana's cheek. She quickly kissed it away. "You don't have to continue." Santana needed to know that there was no rush; Brittany would be here when she was ready.

Santana took a deep breath before continuing. "Someone over heard me and Rach. Rumours travel fast in high school, especially when they're about the school's top bitch."

More tears started to fall and Brittany felt her heart ache for the woman. "You aren't-".

"I used to be." Santana cut her off. "I still can be, but not as much. Anyway, it's in the past. Rachel and Kurt were amazing through it all. There were times when guys would come up and tell me I just needed the right guy to straighten me out and before I could even process what was going on, Rach or Kurt were there telling them off."

"They really do care about you."

"They think I'm evil."

"No they don't."

"They call me Satan."

Brittany stared at Santana. "I can't really explain that one." Santana laughed. "But, I know they care about you. I can see it."

"Maybe."

"And you care about them too."

Santana glared at Brittany. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Brittany tilted her head and raised an eyebrow accusingly. "Ok fine, but you cannot tell them I admitted that."

"Your secret is safe with me." Brittany held Santana's hands in hers and leaned in to plant a tender kiss on Santana's lips. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Thank you for coming with me. Being here in this room, with my girlfriend, feels like I've accomplished something. Like I'm showing this place that I'm not afraid to be myself anymore."

"You should never be afraid to be yourself. Because who you are is pure awesomeness and the people that can't see that don't deserve to." Brittany stated very matter-of-factly.

"You're awesome too Britt-Britt."

* * *

"Mama, we're home!" Santana called through the house as her and Brittany took off their coats and boots.

"Hola mi'ja."

Santana turned to see a man standing in the hallway. Brittany looked between them as Santana stared at the man. Brittany noticed her girlfriend turn a shade paler and clench her jaw. The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat. "Hola Papa."

The man turned to Brittany. "You must be Brittany?"

It was the same thing Maribel had said to her when they first met, so why did it feel so different this time? She held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Lopez."

He looked down at the extended hand. "I prefer to be called Dr. Lopez." Without accepting Brittany's hand he turned to his daughter. "Family will be over soon. Help your mother set the table please."

Brittany retracted her hand, held it close to her chest and watched as Dr. Lopez walked away. "He seems..."

"Trust me, I know."

Santana and Brittany helped Maribel set the table and get the food ready for when their family showed up. They waited in the living room for everyone to arrive.

"Hey Britt, I should warn you." Brittany looked up from her phone to see her girlfriends worried eyes. She noticed Santana was bouncing her leg up and down rapidly. "All of my family knows I'm a lesbian but, some of them don't agree with it. They won't like do anything about it, not any more, but they'll probably just ignore and avoid us all evening."

"Those are the people I was talking about earlier. The people that don't see your awesomeness." She put her hand on Santana's knee to steady it. "If they want to ignore us, I can ignore them right back."

The doorbell rang and the first guests came in, soon followed by the rest of the family. It didn't take long before the room was crowded with the Lopez family plus Brittany. Santana introduced Brittany to all of the family members that would accept them as a couple; mostly cousins and a few aunts and uncles. Santana pointed out her grandmother and told Brittany that she wouldn't be meeting her any time soon.

Dinner was rather quiet and traditional. They gave grace, then took turns dishing out their plates. Some small conversation was sparked but for the most part Brittany felt it was awkward and uncomfortable. After dinner, Maribel and a few of Santana's aunts cleaned up while everyone else moved to the living room.

Brittany watched as Santana socialized with her cousins. She liked seeing Santana with family that accepted her, it obviously meant a lot to her girlfriend. She realized Santana's family wasn't perfect; there were members that were against Santana being a lesbian, some kept glancing at their watches wondering when it would be appropriate to leave, and others barely talked. Even though it wasn't perfect it was still a family and all of those bad parts were worth it just to see Santana smiling and joking with her cousins.

Brittany quietly slipped away and went upstairs to Santana's room. She silently shut the door behind her, pulled out her phone and sat down on Santana's bed. She started dialing the one number she couldn't get out of her mind. She wasn't sure what she would say, all she knew is that she had to talk to the person.

Santana looked back to where she had left Brittany but her girlfriend had disappeared. She looked in the kitchen to see if she had gone to talk to her mom but the blonde was nowhere to be found. She went up the stairs and noticed her bedroom door was shut. Quietly, she walked over to the door and put her ear close to it.

"I know, I'm sorry." It was Brittany's voice. "I didn't mean to take this long. I just thought I should call you." Santana heard Brittany stand up and walk more towards the middle of the room. "No, I can't go back there." Santana wanted to let Brittany know she was there, she felt bad for listening in. She slowly started to open the door. "I just can't mom!" Santana froze. "I know you don't get it, you never will! You pretend like you understand how it feels, like you give a shit but I know the truth. You can call as many times around Christmas as you want but it doesn't make up for what happened. It doesn't make up for abandoning me!" Brittany's voice was cracking and she was obviously crying.

Santana shut her eyes tight to stop from crying too. She heard a thud and couldn't stop herself from barging in. "Britt?" She found Brittany kneeling on the floor crying. The phone was laying beside her with an active call to '_mom'. _Santana hit the end call button and wrapped her girlfriend up in her arms. "It'll be ok Britt. I promise."

With that, Brittany was gone. Santana felt the sobs rattle through her girlfriends body so she pulled her in closer. It would be ok; she would make it ok.

* * *

Brittany didn't remember moving to the bed, she didn't remember falling asleep, and she definitely didn't remember getting changed, but when she woke up she was in her pajamas and laying in Santana's arms. She shifted so she could see Santana's face. She was sleeping but the crease in her brow told Brittany it wasn't a peaceful slumber. She shuffled closer to the woman and kissed her forehead, causing the brunette to stir awake.

"Britt? Are you alright?"

Brittany smiled at Santana's sleepy, scratch voice. "I am. Thanks to you."

"That's what I'm here for babe." Santana winked at her girlfriend and watched as Brittany's small smile faded away. "When you want to talk about it, I'll still be here."

"I know."

Santana looked over Brittany to the clock. It was 3 am. "You know, technically it's Christmas day."

Brittany turned to look at the clock as well. "So it is."

The brunette got out of bed and walked to her bag. "I was going to put this under the tree and you could open it in front of my parents later but, I'd rather it just be us." She pulled out a small box and walked back over to the bed, sitting down beside Brittany. Brittany sat up and accepted the box.

"Before I open this I need to let you know that I got you a present, I swear. It's just something that we need to be in New York for and it won't happen for a couple days. But I really did get you something."

Santana giggled. "I believe you Britt. Just open the present."

Brittany pulled the ribbon off and slowly opened the box. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace. The pendant was a heart, lined with shining stones, and in the middle of the heart was an infinity symbol. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Santana watched Brittany's face but couldn't read the reaction. "Britt?"

"It's beautiful Santana." It was the most beautiful necklace Brittany had ever been given. As she looked down at the gift she felt that burning again; the rings around her neck were scorching her chest, leaving scars on her heart. She looked up at Santana and saw the doubt on her face. Brittany smiled to assure her that she did love the necklace. Could she wear it instead of the rings? She definitely wanted to.


	10. The One She Loved

**AN: We're getting close to the end! (Whaaaat?) Thank you everyone for the favourites/follows/reviews, they mean so much!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Brittany and Santana walked hand in hand into the theatre that Brittany' students were performing at. They presented their tickets and found their seats, settling in to wait for the show to begin.

Santana leaned close to Brittany and whispered. "Are they going to dance to lame, over played Christmas music?"

Brittany giggled. "It's New Years Eve San, not Christmas."

"But this is a _Holiday _dance show."

Brittany turned to her girlfriend. "There will be no cheesy Christmas music. I promise." She winked, causing Santana to smile at the blondes playfulness.

The students came out and performed near perfectly, with only a few minor mistakes. Brittany was not only surprised but pleased with the outcome and it showed on her face. She was smiling so wide it reached her shimmering eyes.

"They did so well!" She yelled excitedly over the clapping.

Santana leaned towards Brittany so that her girlfriend could hear her well enough. "They have an amazing teacher." She told her, and Brittany's smile somehow got even wider.

Santana stopped clapping when Brittany took her hand and started pulling her out of the theater. She led them backstage and waited for the students to finish bowing. Santana watched as Brittany told each and every one of her students that they did a great job. Most thanked her and walked away, seemingly uninterested, but some wore smiles almost as big as hers and seemed almost as proud.

Brittany gave them time to come down from the excitement before gathering them all up. "Hey everyone, I want you to stop and listen." Everyone paused and all they could hear was the chattering from the crowd as they made their way out of the auditorium. "All of those voices out there are talking about how amazing you guys are. The next time I see you will be a new year, and a new start. I realize some of you haven't enjoyed dance this year, maybe it just isn't your thing, but you should know that every one of you was incredible up there tonight. Whether I see you next year or not, I hope you have an amazing New Years Eve and thank you for making me so proud."

Santana looked at the crowd of students and realized all of them had started clapping for Brittany, including the ones that didn't seem happy about being there. They were all smiling at the woman and clapping for her. This was a perfect example of the effect Brittany had on people.

Brittany walked over to Santana and smiled. "Now it's time for your Christmas present. Follow me."

* * *

Santana looked up at the sign o the restaurant. The name was in French and she didn't even want to attempt to pronounce it. She looked in the window at the beautiful tables and expensive décor. Good thing I dressed nice today. She thought to herself as Brittany gave the man their reservation.

Santana put her hand on Brittany's shoulder and leaned in close. "It's beautiful in here Britt." She whispered. "These places are expensive though, you didn't have to do this."

They started following someone to their table. "Don't worry about it." Brittany whispered back.

As they made their way through the dining room, a lone woman sitting at a table caught Santana's eye. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Britt." She started frantically tapping Brittany's shoulder. They were walking closer and closer to the woman. "Britt that's-"

"Mercedes Jones." Brittany announced as they walked up to the woman.

Mercedes looked up at Brittany. "Brittany Pierce!" She eyed the woman before standing up and smiling. "Come here girl."

Brittany smiled back and walked over to hug the woman. Santana stood behind Brittany, completely stunned. "Mercedes this is Santana, my girlfriend. Santana this is Mercedes Jones."

"I know. I mean," Santana cleared her throat and offered her hand to Mercedes, "nice to meet you."

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine." Mercedes replied as she took her seat.

Santana sat down across from her and waited patiently for the waiter to give them his spiel before continuing the conversation. "I doubt that. I mean, you run a huge record label, have two multi-platinum albums, tour the world, and still find time to do more charity shows than anyone else. You're Mercedes Jones."

"And you're Santana Lopez, you work at a diner, live in NYC, have an amazing voice and a girlfriend that cares about you a lot."

Santana smiled at the last fact but then realized what Mercedes had said. "You've heard me sing?"

"I recorded you singing in the shower and sent it to her." Brittany told her.

"Oh?" Santana questioned her girlfriend through clenched teeth. Brittany shrugged.

"Your voice is nothing to be embarrassed of." Mercedes told the brunette. She pointed to the menu in front of her. "We should probably figure out what we want before the waiter comes back."

"Right." Santana looked down at the menu but didn't really read it. She looked back up at Mercedes. "I'm kind of a big fan, in case you didn't notice."

Brittany watched her star struck girlfriend and giggled, realizing there was no way Santana was going to be able to concentrate on the menu. She took the menu from Santana and started looking for something for both of them.

"I kind of got that vibe, yeah." Mercedes laughed.

"I didn't know that you knew each other." Santana said, looking between Mercedes and Brittany.

"Brittany saved my butt about a year ago. I was doing a show here in the city and one of my main dancers sprained her ankle. Of course we have backups just in case, but her understudy got deported a couple days before that so I was down a dancer. I went looking for someone that could learn the choreography quickly and one name was recommended to me; Brittany Pierce." Mercedes smiled towards Brittany, who still had her head down, concentrating on the menu. "The plan was to have Brittany dance backup but, she was so good we had to put her up front with me and the other main dancers. I owe her big time."

"She is pretty amazing." Santana smiled at Brittany and nudged her shoulder, causing Brittany to look up at her. It took her a second but Brittany finally smiled back. Santana glanced at Mercedes to see her looking through her menu. "You ok Britt?" She asked her girlfriend quietly.

Brittany nodded at first but then shrugged and looked at Santana again. "This place is really fancy and uses fancy words."

Santana looked into Brittany's eyes and it didn't take her long before she realized what Brittany was saying. Brittany didn't recognize the words and was having trouble reading the menu. "Let me see." She leaned closer to look at the menu. It was filled with cuisines which Santana could only assume were French, and which did not have much in regards to a description. She looked down the list and noticed an arctic char dish, but it included shiitake mushrooms.

The waiter appeared and took Mercedes order and then turned to the other two woman. "We will both have the arctic char please." She held the menu up for the man. "Both without the mushrooms though. She's allergic." She motioned towards Brittany.

"Of course miss." He tried to take the menu from her but she held onto it.

He glanced up to see her glaring at him. "I'm serious Pierre, no mushrooms go near our food."

He nodded quickly. "Not a problem. I'll tell the chef there's a mushroom allergy at the table."

She let go of the menu and smiled innocently at the waiter. "Great, thanks."

* * *

The women made small talk over dinner and got to know each other more. Santana learned that Mercedes' first album had actually completely failed, and that it took her a while to find the courage to get back into the industry.

"The music industry is a cold and cruel field to get into. Especially today when it isn't just about how well someone can sing; there's so much more to it." Mercedes told the women as the waiter dropped off the bill. She snatched it off the table before Brittany and Santana could even look at it or question why there was only one. "This is on me." She stood up and put her coat on.

"It was really great meeting you. Thank you so much for this." Santana was completely sincere in her thanks and Mercedes could tell.

"Dinner is nothing. Thank me for this instead." She pulled out a card with her work email and phone number on it. Then she turned it around and wrote down her cell phone number and handed it to Santana. "Like I said, this industry is a killer; you have a fantastic voice but you need more than that." She paused and looked over the brunette in front of her. "I think you do have more than that. You have passion, desire and a love for music that shows. If it were up to just me, I would offer you a record deal on the spot, but it isn't. So call me in the new year and we will set up a meeting with everyone important and I'll see what I can do for you."

Santana had no idea what to say, she just sat there staring at the card. So Brittany spoke instead. "Ok, we're even."

"Good!" Mercedes laughed. "See you two around."

Brittany waved goodbye to Mercedes and turned to Santana. "Ready to go?"

"I need a moment." She replied.

Brittany laughed and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "Merry Christmas San."

* * *

"That was the most incredible dinner ever!" Santana said, a little more loudly than she intended. They were walking to Brittany's apartment to get ready to celebrate New Years Eve with Kurt, Rachel and Quinn. "You are the most incredible girlfriend ever."

"I am pretty awesome." Brittany joked. "But really, you deserve it."

"Nobody has ever done something like this for me before. Nobody has ever put so much thought into something for me. The best thing you could have gotten me is a shot at doing what I love and you did that. You have no idea what this means to me."

This was the happiest Brittany had ever seen Santana, and she loved it. "Happy looks good on you." Santana blushed and looked down at the sidewalk. "You are the sweetest person ever."

Santana scoffed. "Says the person who just got me a free dinner with Mercedes Jones."

"No I'm serious." Brittany hooked her arm around Santana's. "Why do Kurt and Rachel think you have a mean streak?"

Santana looked at Brittany, clearly confused. "How do you not see these things?"

Brittany tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"For example. Most people would consider how I talked to that waiter to be rude or mean. His name probably isn't even Pierre." She held the front door to the apartment building open for Brittany.

Brittany furrowed her brow. "No, that was sweet not mean. You were making sure he didn't kill me with mushrooms."

"This is what I meant at Christmas Britt. You only see the good in things. Maybe that's why we work, because you don't see the bad parts of me that everyone else sees."

"Maybe it isn't that I see the good over the bad. Maybe I just see the real you."

They made the walk up the stairs in silence. Santana wanted to believe that everyone in her life had never seen the real her, but that couldn't be true. It didn't make sense, how could Brittany be the only person she's met that ever saw the real her.

They changed into clothes that were slightly more comfortable and less elegant. They took turns doing their makeup while the other picked out the jewellery for their girlfriend. Santana had finished her makeup and was now going through Brittany's collection of jewellery. She picked out a pair of classy diamond earrings that would match the necklace she already had set aside.

"Tonight should be fun." Brittany walked into her bedroom. "I like spending time with everyone, especially now that Quinn and Rach are good friends."

Santana nodded and picked up the earrings. "Yeah, it should be." She handed the earrings to Brittany and waited for her to put them in before holding up the infinity heart necklace. "I'd really love for you to wear this tonight Britt."

Brittany looked at the necklace that was hanging from Santana's hand. She couldn't bring herself to look at her girlfriend's face. "Ok." She took the necklace and held it tight in her hand.

Santana walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you Britt-Britt. Now come on we don't want to be late."

Brittany waited until Santana left the room before walking over to her mirror. She pulled the rings out from under her shirt and looked at them, then looked down at the necklace in her hand. _It's not hard, just take one necklace off and put the other on. _How could something so simple be so difficult?

* * *

Santana swung open the door and held her arms out wide. "Alright, now the party can begin." She announced as she walked into her apartment.

"But it was already going so well without you here." Quinn said from her seat on the couch next to Rachel. "Oh, you brought Brittany. Well in that case..."

Santana studied her for a second before noticing the slight smile. "Hold up, was that a joke? Wow. Someone alert the press, Queen Fabray made a funny."

"It happens from time to time but don't get used to it." Quinn joked, again, but this time she added a wink for good measure.

"Play nice you two." Kurt warned as he helped Brittany with the food she was carrying in.

"I think they were being quite civil." Rachel stated.

"Thank you Berry, I think we were too." Santana took a seat across from Quinn and Rachel.

"More civil than when you first met, that's for sure." Brittany chimed in from the kitchen.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "The way I reacted to you bringing Santana home was completely reasonable."

"I would have done the same thing if I had found out the girl my friend was seeing dropped out of college to become a waitress." Santana shrugged. "It's not exactly something to be proud of." She smiled at Quinn. Neither of them apologized, but there was a silent understanding from both of them.

Brittany sat down on the arm of Santana's chair. "We talked about this. Just because you're a waitress right now does not mean you're a failure."

"Besides, if you do end up being a waitress for the rest of your life it isn't that big of a deal. There are plenty of people that enjoy the job and make a living off of it." Rachel pointed out.

Santana glared at her friend. "I will do more with my life."

"I'm just saying it's fine if it doesn't work-"

"Actually Rachel, today Santana and I had lunch with Mercedes Jones and she's interested in offering Santana a record deal." Brittany defended in a harsh tone, causing Rachel to stare at the blonde in disbelief. "How's your Broadway career going?"

"I..." Rachel looked at Quinn hoping for some sort of help. Quinn just smirked back at the brunette. "I'm still working on it."

Brittany nodded at Rachel knowingly. Santana smiled up at her girlfriend before wrapping her arm around her waist and pulling her into her lap.

"Ah, San!" Brittany shrieked.

Santana looked down at her girlfriend and noticed a shining gold chain around her neck; not a silver one. Brittany hadn't put on the necklace Santana got her. Instead, she was still wearing the old chain with her worn engagement ring and Sam's unused wedding band. Before Brittany could catch on to what the brunette was thinking, Santana kissed her and tried to fight off the uneasy feeling of disappointment.

* * *

"Ten!" The countdown hard started and all five friends were shouting with the announcer on TV.

"Nine!" Brittany took Santana's hand.

"Eight!" Santana looked over at her girlfriend's beautiful blue eyes.

"Seven!" Brittany was everything Santana wanted.

"Six!" She was the sweetest girl Santana had ever met.

"Five!" She was beautiful and caring.

"Four!" She was willing to defend Santana against anything.

"Three!" She wanted to help Santana achieve what she wanted out of life.

"Two!" She was the one Santana loved.

"One!" And she needed to know it.

"Happy New Year!" Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany with enough passion to cause Brittany's breath to catch. The kiss was filled with so much emotion that Brittany couldn't even find it in herself to smile into the kiss. It was not the normal, sweet, tender kiss they usually shared; Santana was trying to convey something, and Brittany was afraid of what it might be.

They finally parted and Brittany found herself taking a deep breath. Santana barely moved away. She looked up into Brittany's eyes. The woman had to know. "I love you Britt." Brittany opened her mouth to say something back but nothing came out. _Love?_


	11. Fear

**AN: Really short chapter but don't worry, there is more to come!**

**Warning: This is not a happy chapter. No cute fluffiness from Brittana, but as I said this isn't the end. Thank you everyone for all the notifications, they make me happy! Alrighty, enjoy!**

* * *

The only noise in the apartment was coming from the crowd on TV, happily celebrating the New Year.

Brittany tried multiple times to get something out. She wanted to tell Santana she loved her too, but she couldn't. Santana had gotten tired of waiting for a response. "Why aren't you wearing the necklace?"

Brittany threw her hand to her chest and felt the two rings that resided there. "I wanted to." Her voice was cracking and tears were forming in her eyes. As much as she wanted to look away from Santana's stare, she couldn't.

"I can't do this." Santana stated calmly as she backed away from Brittany.

Brittany's heart started pounding. "I'm sorry I can't say it San." She pleaded.

"That's not what this is about Britt!" Santana was starting to lose control of her temper. The last thing she wanted to do was go off on Brittany but she wasn't sure how long she could hold it in.

"Then what is it?"

"It's about you not being able to move on!" She yelled. "It's about you not being able to take off those rings or about how I'm always wondering if you're thinking about Sam because we can't even dance together without you crying over him! I know we haven't known each other all that long but he's been gone for two years."

"Santana." Quinn stepped forward to stand beside Brittany. "Calm down."

"No, I've had it with you too Fabray!" Santana pointed at the shorter blonde. "You always tell me not to screw this up when it's Brittany that's doing it not me. I'm completely invested in this," she looked back at Brittany and lowered her voice, "and you aren't. I can't sit around and wait. I'm tired of coming in second to a guy that isn't even here anymore."

Brittany finally broke eye contact and looked down at the her shaking hands. She nodded slowly before making her way around Santana and out the door.

Santana looked at Quinn. "Happy New Year." She turned and walked down the hall, into her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Well, I guess I'll clean up." Kurt sighed and stood up to start gathering their plates and cups.

Quinn sat back down beside Rachel with a sigh. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands. "I don't get it."

"What?"

"I don't get why Santana isn't being more patient with Britt. She knows what Brittany has gone through." Quinn elaborated.

"Yes she does. But I doubt Britt knows what Santana's gone through. At least, I doubt she knows all of it yet." The brunette replied.

Quinn turned her head to look at Rachel. "Go on."

"Santana is a complicated person. I've known her for years and there were two things I thought I could be sure of with her. One; she doesn't open up to anyone. Two; she doesn't believe in love." Rachel could tell from the confused look on Quinn's face that she would have to go more into detail. "Santana grew up with parents that didn't love each other. As far as I know, they still don't but they're still together. Then in high school she dated a lot and slept around while she dealt with the whole sexuality thing, but she never had someone that loved her. After she moved here she met someone and they started dating."

"Dani?"

Rachel nodded. "Dani seemed great, she really did. Santana had been saving up to meet with this recording company in L.A. She had her own songs written and she was supposed to go for a live audition. She saved up the money for the trip and about a week before she was supposed to go…" Rachel sighed and shook her head slowly, still unable to believe someone would do this. "She woke up to find that Dani had stolen everything and left."

"That's horrible." Quinn's voice was even softer than usual.

Rachel nodded. "She kind of gave up after that." She looked up at Quinn. "What I said about Santana not opening up to anyone and not believing in love. That was true, until she met Brittany. That's why this is such a big deal to her. I've never seen her this way with anyone else, clearly Brittany is special to her."

"I didn't know she had been through so much."

Rachel shrugged. "Now you do."

Quinn stood up suddenly and walked to the front door, grabbing her coat on the way. She stopped and turned around. "I have to go talk to Britt. They can't leave it like this."

Rachel stood up and smiled at the blonde. "I couldn't agree more."

"I'll call you." Quinn told her as she left the apartment.

"I look forward to it!" Rachel called after the woman. She turned to see Kurt watching her.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"I don't know if either of us can do anything but I'll try to talk to her."

"Good luck."

Rachel slowly walked down the hall until she reached Santana's door. She knocked lightly and waited. No response. "Santana?" She waited again. Still no response. "Look, I know that what you did tonight wasn't easy for you. You put your heart out on the line and you feel like it's been crushed. You told her you love her and she didn't say it back but, those are just words. I've seen the way she looks at you and the way she acts around you. What I mean is, just because she didn't say it back doesn't mean she doesn't feel it. She's just scared. You know what that feels like."

* * *

Quinn opened the door to her apartment as fast as she could. "Britt?" She called out. She ran down the hall and into Brittany's room, stopping dead in her tracks. What she saw was not what she had expected. She had expected to see a drunk Brittany trying desperately to drown the pain. Instead she found Brittany sitting at the end of her bed, with her knees to her chest, staring at the wall.

"Is it possible to love two people at the same time?" Brittany asked without actually acknowledging Quinn's presence.

Quinn walked over and slowly sat on the bed next to Brittany. "You love Santana?" She watched Brittany's face. The look in her eye was enough of an answer. "Why didn't you tell her then?"

"Because I still love Sam." Brittany paused and waited for Quinn to respond but she didn't. "We were engaged. I was going to spend the rest of my life with him." She almost sounded surprised.

"Yeah, you were."

"How can I give my heart to someone when it's already taken by someone else? It wouldn't be fair."

"Britt," Quinn shuffled closer to Brittany, "you and Sam were a beautiful couple. You made each other happy, anyone who knew you two would agree." Brittany's brow furrowed but she didn't look away from the wall. "But, Sam isn't here anymore B. Santana is, and she makes you so happy. Don't let what happened with your parents happen again."

"My parents abandoned me when Sam disappeared." Brittany countered.

"No they didn't!" Quinn was getting very frustrated with her friend. "You shut them out, you shut everyone out. They tried so hard to get you to talk to them. They even offered for you to move back with them remember? You are the reason they aren't around anymore. It has nothing to do with them leaving you and everything to do with the fact that you let grief take over."

"If I shut everyone out then why are you still here?" Brittany glared at Quinn.

Quinn glared back but chose to ignore her comment. "I don't know if you're scared he's still out there and that you'd be betraying him or if you're just scared of getting hurt again. Maybe it's a mixture of both. Either way, you can't let fear control your life. You have to move on and I know that you want to. You just have to take the chance."

* * *

At some point Rachel had stopped trying to get Santana to talk. Santana didn't remember hearing her leave the hallway but she wouldn't stay out there all night. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to look at it. No new notifications; Brittany hadn't tried to get a hold of her. She sighed and turned onto her side so she could put her phone away. When she reached back into her pocket she felt something poke her hand and pulled it out. It was Mercedes' business card.

She looked at the card in her hand. That tiny card had the power to make her dreams come true. Not long ago she had given up on ever becoming a professional musician, but then something changed. She started to feel like maybe there was still a chance for her. She started to believe in herself again and she only had one person to thank for that; Brittany.

She placed the card safely into the drawer in her night stand and pulled her phone back out.

* * *

Brittany sat staring at the picture on her wall. She had waited until Quinn left to start crying and the tears had run out a while ago. She studied the painting closer than she ever had. The city itself was fairly basic because all the detail work had gone into the sky. So much time and care had been put into those stars. Santana had given Brittany plenty of time and care. She had been patient enough. Sure, they hadn't known each other that long but Santana was right, it's been two years. Two years and she still couldn't bring herself to move on, no matter how badly she wanted to.

The blonde jumped when her phone started ringing from the bed where she threw it when she walked in. She turned around to look at the phone. _Sanny. _She watched, unmoving, as it rang. She watched until it stopped ringing.

She looked back at the painting and made a decision; Santana deserved more. She didn't deserve to wait around for Brittany to finally be ready. The last thing Brittany would do is bring Santana down with her.


	12. New Year's Resolution

**AN: This is it guys... thank you for everything! This was my first fic and all the positive feedback made the experience fantastic. **

**I hope you enjoy the final chapter. I have plans for a couple other fics (possibly a sequel?) if people want more from me. **

**Have fun with the feels! Brittany's speech was a bit tough to write but I think I got the point across.**

* * *

Brittany was getting ready for work when she heard Quinn enter the room. Their apartment had been quiet for days, both women not knowing what to say to each other. Other than the occasional hello or goodnight, conversation didn't exist and New Years Eve was never spoken of. Quinn was fed up.

"We need to talk." She told her friend as she sat down at the table. Brittany hesitated but joined her. "What are you doing?"

Brittany looked around the kitchen then down at the thermal mug in her hands. "Getting ready to leave for work?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Don't get smart with me. Rachel told me Santana has been trying to get a hold of you. Why aren't you talking to her?"

"Because that will make it harder for both of us." She looked down at her hands that were wrapped securely around her mug. "She said she couldn't do it anymore. She said she was done, and she has every right to be. Santana will find someone that can love her the way she deserves to be loved. I guess it just wasn't me."

"That's a load of crap. You love that woman. Why won't you tell her that?"

Brittany stood up and started putting on her coat without looking back at Quinn. "I have to go to work. Bye."

With that, Quinn was left sitting alone in the kitchen. What was Brittany so afraid of?

* * *

"Um, excuse me?"

Santana turned to see a young couple sitting at a table. The woman was pointing at her food. "Yes?"

"These eggs are over-easy and I wanted sunny side up." She pushed the plate towards Santana.

"You ordered over-easy, so that's how our chef made them."

"Yeah, but I wanted sunny side up."

Santana clenched her jaw and forced a smile. "I'll get that changed right away for you." She picked up the plate and turned around, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the bar.

"What's with the scowl?" Kurt asked. "Things not going well?"

Santana put the plate on the window to the kitchen. "Some bimbo ordered the wrong kind of eggs. So of course we have to fix her mistake." She leaned in the window. "Hey, can I get these eggs switched for two sunny side up?"

Kurt waited until a cook picked up the plate and left. "Have you talked to Britt?" He asked his friend quietly.

Santana glanced to the side at him quickly. "No. I've called her but it's pretty clear she doesn't want to talk."

"Right…" Kurt studied his friend. Bringing the Brittany topic up hadn't made her angry which scared him more than if she had started yelling at him. Since New Years Eve she had been fairly calm. She wasn't yelling at her roommates for singing show tunes, she didn't complain when Rachel made her a vegetarian dinner, and it didn't even seem to bother her when they brought over a bunch of classmates to practice a piece they were working on for school. Santana wasn't getting angry over anything, and this may have been a good thing except, she also wasn't happy about anything. Santana wasn't herself, she was just numb. "What time do you work until tonight?"

"I work until close."

"Well, after that, Rachel and I were thinking about going to get a few drinks and you should come with us." He crossed his fingers, hoping that Santana would agree to go out and try to have fun.

Santana shrugged. "Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do."

* * *

Brittany watched as her students packed up their things. Every student from the previous year had come back and there were even some new faces. She waited by the door for every student to leave the studio, saying goodbye and wishing each one a good weekend. She was surprised when even the students that disliked her last year said goodbye to her; maybe she had grown on them.

The dancer made her way down the hall and to her office. She sat down at her desk and scrolled through her emails, only half paying attention to the words on the screen. She didn't have much work to do but she definitely didn't want to go home and face Quinn again. As the scrolled through her inbox she came across the reply she had received from Mercedes when she sent her the recording of Santana singing.

In the email, Mercedes told her that Santana had a magnificent voice despite the horrible quality and the sound of running water. Mercedes said she must care a lot about Santana to put the dinner together for her. The email also said that Santana was lucky to have a girlfriend like Brittany.

Brittany remembered her response to that email. She had told Mercedes that she was the lucky one, not Santana. She was so fortunate that someone as amazing as Santana could have fallen for someone as damaged as her. Someone that was willing to go out in the freezing cold just to spend time with her. Someone that would put her before themselves no matter what. Quinn was right; she did love Santana.

She looked down the list of her folders and her eye stopped at one in particular; '_Deal with later_'. She hovered over the folder. Brittany hadn't read the full email when she received it, she read the first few lines and filed it away before she accidentally read too much. She tried to think back through the past two years. Quinn had been right about Santana, maybe she was right about her parents.

She opened the folder to find several unread emails from her mother. She scrolled through them but decided to only read the most recent one. It was the one she had received before Christmas. She started reading it and the beginning was nothing but her mother asking if she would spend Christmas with them this year.

Brittany frowned. She had never responded to this email. All she did was call her mom on Christmas eve and yell at her. "Not exactly daughter of the year material." She said to herself before continuing with the email.

The email went on to tell her about how things were going with her parents; how things were back in Pennsylvania. Her mother mentioned the fact that she's seen Quinn more recently than her own daughter. The guilt started to sink in and Brittany was ready to close the email when the last paragraph caught her attention.

_'Your father and I miss you so much Brittany. You may have given up on yourself but I haven't. I love you. You know from experience that falling in love can be scary and finding true love can be hard, but it can be even scarier and even harder to lose it.'_

Brittany stared at the words. She had loved Sam and losing him was one of the hardest things she's ever faced. Her mom was telling her that she was putting them through the same thing. Losing someone you love is the worst feeling. She didn't want to put her parents through it anymore, and she didn't want to go through it again either. She hit the reply button.

_'It is scary, but I'm done hiding. I love you too.'_

* * *

The diner had been busy all day so Santana was glad when she looked around and noticed it was dying down. There were a few tables left with customers, but mostly the diner just needed to be cleaned. She started wiping down a table when she heard the bell above the door go off. She sighed. _Great a new customer._

"Santana?" She turned around to see Brittany standing just inside the door. "Can we talk?"

"Oh, now you want to talk?" She let out a soft chuckle. "It can wait." She turned around and started to walk to the back. She made it about half way through the diner before Brittany called after her.

"I don't love Sam." Santana froze in her tracks. She looked to the side to see that some customers were now watching. "Please Santana?"

"Need an intermission yeah?" Santana looked behind the bar at Gunther. "Go ahead, go deal with your blonde friend." He smiled at her and she mouthed the words '_thank you_'. She turned around, walked briskly towards Brittany and pulled her out of the diner by the arm.

Brittany stared at the woman in front of her. Santana was clearly angry and she had every right to be. "I don't love Sam."

Santana nodded. "You said that already."

Brittany took a deep breath. She hated words but she had to try. _Here goes nothing_. "I started falling for you the day I met you and falling for someone is scary. It's scary because you open yourself up to be hurt, and I didn't want to go through that again. I was also scared because moving on means giving up on what I had with Sam and I was scared of the guilt. When he disappeared I felt like part of me disappeared too and I had no idea how to get it back. I gave up, I stopped trying to find that part of me. I started shutting people out because if I had nobody to love then I had no love to lose. But then you came into my life. You make the possibility of pain worth it. You don't make me feel guilty because this," She gestured between the two of them. "is something beyond what I've had with anyone else. You came into my life and brought that part of me back with you. Falling for someone is scary but the right person is worth it." Tears had started to form in Brittany's eyes. She looked at Santana's eyes but couldn't read her face. "On New Years Eve I asked Quinn if you can love more than one person and, to me, the answer is no. In order to fall in love with someone you have to fall out of love with the other person first. You can only be in love with the person you're meant to be with." She noticed that Santana's eyes were starting to water as well, so she took her hands and held onto them. "I'm meant to be with you Santana, nobody else, and I am so in love with you. This is not something I'm willing to hide from. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure out."

Santana stared into blue eyes to see something she hadn't seen in them before; one hundred percent certainty. "I'm in love with you too Britt." Brittany pulled Santana in for a passionate kiss. She wanted to show Santana how the New Years kiss should have gone. She wanted to prove to the brunette that she meant every word. She was in love with this woman and nobody else. They parted and Brittany started pulling Santana further outside so they could see the sky. She pointed straight up. Santana followed Brittany's silent instructions and looked up. The lights of the city were too bright and she couldn't see anything in the sky. "I can't see the stars B."

"That's the beauty of stars. Even if you can't see them they're always there for you." She put her hands around Santana's again. "I spent two years wishing for a reason to move on and they gave that to me; they gave me you. Now there's only one more wish I have for them."

"What's that?"

Brittany let go of Santana's hands and started to undo her necklace. She pulled off the chain and held the two rings in her hand. She put them into her pocket and then reached into her other pocket. "I wish that my girlfriend would put this on me." She pulled out a silver chain and held it up. Santana's eyes were drawn to the beautiful infinity heart hanging from it.

She smiled at Brittany and took the necklace. "Of course I will." Brittany turned around and allowed Santana to hook her necklace around her neck.

She turned back to her girlfriend just in time to see a tear roll down Santana's cheek. She kissed the tear away. "I don't want to make you cry anymore." She confessed.

"These are happy tears Britt, I promise." Santana froze at her word choice but when Brittany smiled, she smiled back. Her smile soon faded when she realized something. "I don't get off work for another two hours."

"Oh, right." Brittany looked over Santana towards the diner.

"I'll call you as soon as I'm done."

Brittany nodded and kissed Santana one last time. "See you later."

Santana laughed. "Is this another cliff hanger?"

Brittany smiled at her. "No, it's a promise."


	13. Epilogue

**AN: Here's a short epilogue to see how our girls are doing in this universe. **

**I've decided to definitely do a sequel. I'm not sure how long until that will be posted but it will come sometime in the future! I hope you enjoy this cute little ending and I can't wait to start with the sequel (and another unrelated story I have planned). Feel free to review or message me if you have any feedback/questions. Even questions about the sequel or the other story; anything at all! I love you hear from you guys.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Santana was standing in front of their dresser in their room staring down at a jewellery box. _Their dresser. Their room. _She smiled to herself. Seven months ago she was working at a diner for just over minimum wage and sharing an apartment with two of her friends from high school. She had no motivation left and no idea what to do. Now, she was moving in with her girlfriend and soon she would be off to Los Angeles to record her first few original songs. She opened the top of the jewellery box and looked at the gold rings that had not been touched in months.

"Hello, Santana?" The brunette snapped out of her daydreaming when she heard Quinn's voice echo through the apartment.

She walked out to find her friend carrying a large box. "Hey Q."

"Hey, so I know you helped me move out of this place but that doesn't mean I'm going to do all the work to move you in." Quinn huffed.

Santana crossed her arms. "I don't know, manual labor looks good on you." After a glare from Quinn she sighed and took the box from her friend.

"I can't believe you and Britt are moving in together."

"You just moved in with Rachel." Santana countered.

"That's completely different."

"How so?" Both women turned to see that Brittany had walked in behind them.

"I only moved in with Rach because Kurt moved in with his boyfriend and Santana is moving in with you. Besides, Rach and I aren't together. I mean look," she pushed open the door to the bedroom room. "there's only one bed." She walked in and gestured towards their bed. They followed her in. "And it's only a double!"

Brittany furrowed her brow and looked at the bed. "That's the best part."

Santana laughed as she put the box down on the floor. Quinn scoffed. "Please, spare me the details."

The women walked out to the kitchen. Quinn and Santana sat at the table as Brittany went to grab three bottles of water from the fridge. "So how are you going to survive rooming with Rachel Berry?" Santana asked Quinn.

Quinn shrugged. "It won't be that bad. You lived with her for a long time right?"

"Yes but I had years of practice tolerating her."

Brittany joined them at the table and they accepted the water. Quinn started spinning the bottle out of habit. "Well, this just makes the most sense. Kurt moved out and you and Britt want to live together so you and I just sort of switch places. It works out for everyone."

Brittany smiled at Quinn. "I like it! I think you and Rachel will be best friends. You already get along because neither of you know how to have fun."

Santana smirked at Quinn's surprised expression. She had no idea why Quinn was surprised, it wasn't uncommon for Brittany to be ruthlessly honest. Quinn quickly composed herself. "We do get along, although that may not be the reason. So yes, this arrangement will work." Quinn stood up and picked up her bag. "I have to go, I'm having lunch with an old friend."

Brittany perked up at this news. "Puck?" She asked excitedly.

"Possibly." Quinn winked at her. "Call me if you need anymore help moving in." She turned and started walking out of her old apartment.

"Thanks Quinn!" Brittany called after her friend. Brittany finished peeling the label off of her water bottle before getting up. "I have something for you."

Santana looked up at her girlfriend who was now walking across the room. "Like what?"

Brittany bent down and started going through the drawer of a coffee table in the living area. "Like a house warming present or whatever." She pulled something out and turned around, carefully hiding the present behind her back. She gracefully made her way back into the kitchen and sat down beside Santana.

"Britt I'm moving in with you, I don't think that's how it works." Santana smiled at the blonde.

"Well this time it does." Brittany held Santana's hand in one of hers while still hiding the gift behind her. "A while ago you made me a promise. You never said it out loud but, when you gave me this," she let go of her girlfriends hand to hold up the necklace Santana had gotten her, "it was a promise to love me forever." Santana nodded; that is what the necklace had come to mean to them. "I want to promise the same thing." She brought her other hand out from behind her back to reveal a small velvet box.

"Britt-" Santana gasped.

"I promise to love you forever Santana." She opened the box to show Santana the necklace inside. It was very similar to the one Brittany had received expect, instead of the infinity sign being in the middle, it wrapped around the heart.

Santana's eyes started to fill with tears and as she stared down at the beautiful necklace, she realized she had never smiled so sincerely. "It's beautiful Britt."

"I tried to get one that matched what you got me but this is as close as I could get."

Santana shook her head and picked up the necklace to cut Brittany's unnecessary apology off. "It's perfect." She held the necklace up. "Put it on me?"

Brittany nodded enthusiastically and grabbed the necklace. She walked around Santana and put the necklace around her neck. Once it was securely fastened, Santana stood up, turned around and gave Brittany a tender kiss. They parted and Brittany rested her forehead against Santana's.

Brittany sighed contentedly. "I will love you until infinity."

Santana smiled and finished the thought. "I promise."


End file.
